Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles
by mwendyr
Summary: Some relationships and friendships are stronger than others... some are tested. Sequel to Confessions. Chapter 10 is up!
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Some friendships and relationships are stronger than others...

Pairing: Mike/Alex

Series: M/A, Sequel to Confessions

Spoilers: Blind Spot (And the story Shadow, apart of this series, which was a post-ep for Blind Spot) Diamond Dogs

Disclaimer: Not mine. Shame though because I know what I would do if it were... hmmmm.

Reviews: Please?

A/N: I make no appologies for how this story starts... I'm evil so now you all know. You might notice a change in how I post these chapters... you may not.

**Podie1 **- Thank you so much for reviewing. You get cookies for being so wonderful and helpful too. I can't wait for the Blasters one either... I hope you'll like it. :D

**MARY T **- Thank you so much for your advice, it was greatly appreciated to the point where I felt the need to thank you again:)

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

A court house was always buzzing with activity. So many cases being put to trial, so many people demanding justice and so many defendants trying to be innocent. It was enough to send Alex Eames into a dizzy state and never return. Despite that she was trying to keep herself grounded as they stood in the hallway outside the court room. She and her partner Bobby Goren had been working alongside Mike Logan and Megan Wheeler on a 1 million dollar fraud case that had blown out of propotion, resulting in multiple homicides to solve as well.

"What do you think?" Mike asked no one in particular as he spotted Captain Ross heading towards them.

Bobby nodded, holding his leather portfolio close to his stomach, "The closing statement sounded very convincing. Hopefully the Jury won't take too long to decide on a verdict."

"Mmm, knowing our luck they will." Alex commented, dryly. Bobby shot her a small look but she ignored it.

Ross sighed, "Well, there's no point in waiting around for now. I know all of you have got a high caseload if-"

"Excuse me." Bobby suddenly interrupted Ross quietly, making a quick exit away from the group heading down the coridoor, seemingly spotting something and going after it.

Ross looked at Alex, "What is he doing?"

Alex felt herself sigh inwardly. Why did he always expect her to know? "I don't know." Mike shrugged and Megan just shook her head, having no idea. They all turned to watch him walk away and their confusion grew when they saw him stop to talk to someone but couldn't see who it was.

Bobby, however, knew just exactly who he was talking to and he couldn't keep the anger from his face. "How dare you show up here?" He tried to keep his voice down, he didn't want his colleagues at the opposite end of the hall to hear him.

"I came because of a case study relating to-"

"Look," Bobby interrupted angrily, "just leave before she sees you."

"S-she's here?"

Bobby became flustered, "Yes, she is and No!"

"Why not?" The other man whined, excited and thrilled at the prospect.

"Because you can't!" Bobby's words fell on deaf ears because he walked away from him without another word, heading in the direction that Bobby had come from. "Dec!" He shouted after him but it was no use, the man was on a mission.

A mission that was about to come to a complete stop. Bobby chased after him and was helpless as Alex stood, eyes wide in shock as Declan Gage walked over to with his own eyes beaming with excitement. "Who the hell are you?" Mike asked, confused by both Alex's and Bobby's reaction.

Bobby caught up with them. "Declan, you have to leave."

Declan ignored Bobby completely, focusing his entire attention to Alex. "Incredible." He commented, as if the others weren't there.

"Declan? As in Gage?" Mike asked, his voice sounded threatening as his stance became aggressive and he stood closer to Alex, wanting put himself in between the two of them.

Ross and Bobby looked at each other, weary of what was going on. "Mr Gage if you'd-" Ross never got to finish.

"What was it like?" Declan asked.

"What?" Alex spoke in a small voice, shocked by the question. Megan didn't say a word because she felt a little out-of-the-loop on this one. But Alex's voice was enough to stop both Mike and Bobby from moving any further.

"You're the first known survivor. I-I realise that Jo wasn't Sebastian himself but she was reconstructing and using his tools to the point of obsession." Declan explained wildly. Alex's eyes grew bigger as she realised what he wanted from her; an account of the events from her perspective.

Alex took a step back and Mike took one step forward, effectively managing to block Declan the way he had wanted to. Bobby grabbed Declan's arms and pulled him backwards, shaking him. "I just want to talk to her-"

"No!" Bobby insisted, loudly. "She's not one of your case studies."

"Mr Gage, I will put a restraining order against you if you don't leave right now." Ross threatened, darkly. Alex, despite the fact it would've made sense for her to be the one to walk away, didn't move. She just stood there, her eyes fixed on Declan as her mind raced, trying not allow those emotions to be put on display and her pride not wanting to show any weakness, she tried to stand as tall as her height would allow her to be.

Declan looked her in the eye, "Please let me talk to you about it."

She shook her head, "No."

Bobby looked Declan in the eye, satisfied, "You've had your answer."

"Leave." Mike ordered, dangerously low. Two security guards came over to them and Bobby shoved Declan in their direction. Alex felt the relief wash over her as she could vaguely see Mike turning to see if she was alright.

"The Jury has reached a verdict." Came the voice from the double doors of the court room.

"Wow, that was fast." Megan commented, feeling like she was the only who could make them comment.

"Yeah." Mike muttered, not really bothered about that. He kept his eyes on Alex as she stared ahead, watching Declan being escorted out of the building until they were out of sight. When they were she finally lifted her gaze to look Mike in the eye. "Let's go." He told her, quietly, hoping to get her out of there before she broke in such a public arena.

"Eames-" Bobby started.

Alex shook her head, "I'm okay." She looked towards the court room, "They're reading the verdict, we should go and hear it." Without waiting for a response she headed back into the courtroom, not even checking to see if they were following her.

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Back at the office and Mike's neck was beginning to feel sore. The knots getting knots and he tried to massage his neck but to not success. The reports, papers, interview notes, transcribing and research in front of his eyes were all crossing together and that was only the start of it. On top of all his work he was being loaded with worry about Alex, who from what he could tell, was being elusive ever since the incident at the court house and wasn't speaking to anyone as she sat in the interview room to do her work. Alone.

He'd keep looking up at her, making the knots feel worse, to see if she was okay. Everytime he'd start to feel relieved she was there he'd take one look at her face and feel concerned again. She had that distant, hard look on her face. He knew it well because he'd worn it before. He knew that going up to her and asking her about it here was a bad idea but it was hours until quitting time and he wasn't sure he could hold it in that long.

"Who is Declan Gage?" His red-headed partner asked him, curiosity getting the better of her. The incident at the court house had been confusing for her. Mike eyed her before looking back at his work, refusing to answer. "Whoever he is, it looks like he's going to be a problem."

"Wheeler," Mike started, "Don't."

Megan frowned, "Don't what?"

Mike dropped his pen and looked across at her, she looked confused and bewildered, having no idea what that confrontation had been about. "Just don't." Mike spoke with a finality. He picked his pen back up and ducked his head back down to get on with his work.

"Just-" a beat, "-who was this Sebastian he referred to?"

Mike sighed, dropping his pen again and leaning back in his chair in annoyance, "Do you always play 50 questions with your partners? Or am I _that _special?"

Megan's eyebrows raised a little, her short hair unphased by the movement, "I'm just-"

"Just what?" Mike almost snapped.

"Worried." Megan replied calmly, "He seems to have you all rattled. Did something happen to Detective Eames?"

Mike stood up and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair. He looked down at Megan and then muttered, "Yeah, something." Then he sauntered out of the squad room with heavy feet.

Megan frowned as she watched him leave, realising that her own curiosity hadn't allowed for her to considered that something terrible had really happened to her new friend, Alex, before they had even met. Worried, she flipped open her laptop and searched the NYPD Intranet for Sebastian.

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Standing outside with the fall weather starting to cause the temperature to drop, only slightly, but with the wind blowing directly at him he was certainly feeling the chill. He should've known she would follow him he just hadn't expected her to. "Wheeler?" He turned around and stopped. Not the person he'd thought would show at all but this person was much more pleasant, in his mind anyway.

The surprise on his face disappeared and he smiled. "Expecting your partner?" Alex asked, holding out a foam cup of coffee for him. He gratefully took it, wrapping his arms around the cheap stuff.

"Well, to be honest, yeah." Mike replied, not elaborating any further. "How you doing?"

She shrugged, "I'm okay." He looked down at her and she sighed, "Fine, I'm not okay but saying it doesn't help." Mike held her arm and gently pulled her into his embrace, holding her tight and allowing her to bury her face in his chest. The coffee cup carefully held in one hand, hoping not to spill the hot liquid all over her. "How dare he turn up and start asking me _that_?" She growled into his chest, angrily. She half pulled away and lifted her head up to look at him, he ducked his head down to look at her, sensing her movement.

"If he turns up again, shoot him." Mike suggested, as if it was the most sensible suggestion in the world.

Alex smiled, "I doubt that'll fly."

He shrugged, "Fine, I'll shoot him." Alex frowned, "He'd be worth another 50 years on Staten Island." He said, making emphasis on the number of years.

She shook her head in disagreement, "No, he wouldn't." She looked down for a small moment before looking back up at him, sighing, "I thought it was over."

"It is over." Mike promised her with conviction. "Don't let that slimy, useless, no-good-for-nothing, piece of-" Alex covered his mouth with her hand and shook her head, she didn't need to hear him reel everything off like a grocery list. She removed her hand and Mike smirked, "I wasn't finished."

Giving him a soft smile that fell as instantly as it was formed, she sighed, "I thought I was okay, but I'm not."

Mike blinked, "You're not?" She shook her head, "Then you're the world's best actress because you look okay, you sound okay and you seem to be like yourself to me." She started to shake her head but Mike shot her a look. "Wanna know what I think?" He didn't wait for an answer, "I think you're just fine and that incident this morning just made you think otherwise." She looked at the stubborness set on his face and she had to laugh. He watched her as she released the day of tension in her own laughter, letting it all off her chest as she realised the stupidity of her own thoughts and that Mike was right.

He watched her with fascination as she buried her head in his chest once more trying to quieten her own laughter, without prevail. Ducking his head down to get a look at her because she was standing so close to him, he smiled with relief; at least she was okay.

When her body stilled and the laughter subsided she lifted her head up, keeping her arms around his waist, and looked at him. Her cheeks bright pink from laughing so hard. "Feel better?" Mike asked, amused.

She smirked, "Much."

"Good." Mike nodded, "You had me worried for a minute there."

"Just _a _minute?" Alex asked, feeling more like herself.

Mike shrugged, "Well, a minute and a half." He figured she'd seen him stressing at his desk, he didn't need to actually tell her about that.

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The search Megan had made for Sebastian hadn't really been conclusive, all she'd discovered was that he was a serial killer who has never been caught. So, what did that have to do with Alex? After several hours of meticulus searching, trying to connect-the-dots with the hovering feeling above her that she already knew the answer. But what was it?

And then she was hit by proverbial lightning bolt of eureka.

_"Hold on." The words had brought the girls night in party to a stand still. Alex's best friend from High School, Jessie Grant, had spoken the words. Megan had been sat down on one of the chairs, still uncomfortable with all of these women around her that she did not know yet. "You were kidnapped?" The shock wave hit across the room. "By a serial killer?" _

Megan's hand stopped moving as the hovered an inch above the keyboard she had been typing on. Why had she forgotten this? Remembering all the alcohol she and a few of the others had been drinking she figured the answer to that was obvious but still, it bothered her slightly that she'd forgotten such an important piece of information. Now, everything that Declan Gage had said was finally put into some kind of context. Especially now she remembered Alex's response to her friends, Jessie, question.

_"It was more a woman emulating the killer." _

She'd spoken relatively calm but there had been an undercurrent of hurt, stress and worry to her voice that Alex had managed to keep well hidden.

Her partner was opposite her at his desk, body hunched over as he tried to desperately finish his reports. As if he could feel her eyes on him he looked up, "What, Wheeler?"

Megan looked at him straight, "I was just doing some research."

"Research?" Mike frowned, "On what?"

Megan hesitated for a moment but she had no choice but to tell him the truth. Ross wanted her to give this partnership a fair chance, she wanted to give it a fair chance, and do that she needed to be straight and honest with him, "Sebastian and Declan Gage."

There was flicker of anger across Mike's face as she answered but he tried to cover it. "What for?" He couldn't keep the irritation from his voice. "That's not got anything to do with our case."

"I felt it was important considering what happened this morning, if it were to happen again-"

Mike sighed with frustration and leaned back in his chair, it was enough to cut Megan's sentence off. "Congratulations, Wheeler." Mike said, sarcastically, "You're officially good at snooping behind the back of a cop." Mike stood up and, for the second time today, left Megan alone and abandoned the squad room altogether.

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"We need to stop coming outside." Alex told him, with a hint of humor and wry smile on her face. "People are gonna start thinking we're having quickies out here."

Mike turned to her, the thunder still written on his face but there was room enough for a wicked grin of his own, "Yeah? That wouldn't be so bad." He turned back away from her and sighed with frustration. She walked over to him and looked up at him; patiently waiting.

Patience only lasted so long though because it looked like he was going to willingly explain what he was doing so she decided enough was enough and that she was going to do the pushing, "Wheeler told me what happened."

Mike turned to her with a look of surprise, "She told you?"

Alex nodded, "Yes." Mike turned away again, "She was bound to put 2 and 2 together after what she saw this morning."

He turned back to her, "You're okay with that? You're okay with her looking it up behind your back?"

"Well, no." Alex said, almost sounding pathetic. "But, I would've done the same thing. She needed an explanation and we should have given her one. She did the next best thing."

"Look," Mike spoke angrily, "She should've respected the fact that it was private. How dare she look into what happened to you... or any cop for that matter!" Alex didn't respond quickly. Trouble by his anger but understanding of where it was coming from; his own multiple investigations into himself by either IAB or other cops and, although he'd never really said it, her kidnapping ordeal had frightened him.

All Alex could say was, "She didn't know. She's your partner... explain it to her." Mike made a sound of irritation and disagreement. Alex sighed, "Did Carolyn do something at the beginning of your partnership with her that you didn't like?" Mike looked at her for a moment, thinking; he remembered the incident where he and Carolyn had been in the interrogation room and she'd practically forced him into talking about his violent history with his mother to try to win the kid over. Looking at Alex, he didn't tell her but he nodded in response to her question. "Okay, so? You see what I'm getting at?"

Mike rolled his eyes in frustration. "Subtle." He commented sarcastically.

"Just give her a chance." Alex ignored his comment. "It's not worth having to have another partner over, is it?" It wasn't really a question from Alex's point of view, but Mike answered regardless.

"Actually, yes it is."

Alex look at him incredulously, "Why?"

He looked directly at her, trying not to let his emotions betray him as he spoke, "Because it's you." Alex felt like any possible response she could have given was shot down by his three simple words. All she could do was look at him and mirror his statement in her eyes.

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TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Podie1 **- Thank you. I love Wheeler too and yes Mike should trust her but the partnership is new and well, read the rest of the story... here it is. ;)

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

Alex was just wrapping the bath towel around her body as she heard her front door open. She knew who it was so she didn't bother to move. Relaxed, finally, from having a soothing shower that made her feel refreshed and now she felt so much so she was tired. With a yawn she started to dry her hair. "Honey, I'm home!" She had to laugh at the cringeworthy greeting Mike had just called out to her. His voice dripping with a humor that was laced with sarcasm. Having only been living together for a week they were still in the fun stage, and of course the trial and error stage but mostly it was just fun.

With a wry smile, she shouted back, "Welcome home, Sweetheart!" Her own voice full of sarcasm as well. She laughed when she heard him chuckle at their own stupidity. She heard his footsteps and she opened the bathroom door just in time to see him holding his fist out to knock it. She greeted him with a smile, continuing with their spontaneous role playing game, "Did you have a good day at the office?"

He didn't answer immediately, his eyes too busy roaming over her damp body, loosely covered by the bath towel that she was holding up. When his eyes finally rested on her face he saw the smirk she was wearing and then answered, "It was just your average day." They looked at each for a moment, their eyes twinkling with laughter so much that they just collapsed into a fit of giggles at themselves. Mike pulled her into him, wet towel and all, and held her close as he tried to calm his own laughter. It was impressive to him when they could do something like that no matter what kind of horrible day they had had. A benefit to not, technically, working together.

"I'll bet." Alex commented once they'd stopped laughing. She pulled away and had to tighten the towel around her body. Mike just watched, his eyes once again _not _on her face. His body suddenly tingling with that familiar ache; one that his body was physically reacting to. With a smirk on her face, she looked down and then back up at his face. "It's good to see the towel still does that for you."

Mike's lips twitched at the corners and formed a suggestive smile, "I think if you remove the towel you'd find that's not it." His voice was deep, hoarse as if he was trying to hold himself together.

With a knowing smile on her face, she tiptoed upwards and kissed the edge of his nose and cheek. Once she had her weight back on both feet she smiled again and then walked out of the bathroom, towards the bedroom. Mike watched her go, his eyes never leaving her hips and the way that they swayed purposely to tease him.

When she emerged from the bedroom five minutes later she was dressed in comfortable slacks with her damp hair now loose around her shoulders. She walked into the kitchen to see Mike rummaging the cupboards; desperately searching for something. "Mike? What you looking for?" She asked, the sound of her voice causing him to lift his head up without pulling his head out of the cupboard.

"Ouch!" He exclaimed, finally pulling out of the cupboard and then rubbing his sore head with his hand. He stood straight and tried to ignore the smirk on her face as he replied to her question, "I'm looking-" He held out his hand to show a cylinder shape, although it was unnecessary, "-for my favourite mug." Alex frowned, puzzled. "Y'know, the Simpsons one?"

Alex's frown disappear to be replaced by recognition, "Oh." She said, with enough emphasis that Mike realised she knew where it was.

"Where is it?" Mike asked, unable to keep the suspiscion from his voice.

Alex chuckled at him, "It's in there." She pointed towards the high cupboard behind him. Mike turned, opened it and upon finding his mug he whipped it out quickly and turned back to her. The biggest smirk was on her face. "I didn't realise you loved that mug more than me."

Mike shot her a look that said otherwise.

But Alex just shook her head, "I'll leave you two alone." She turned to leave but Mike grabbed her arm, forcing her to come back.

Then, without warning, she changed the subject, "Did you talk to your partner?" Mike didn't reply and that was an answer, "Why not?"

"No point." Mike replied, "She seemed okay to me."

"Now, you know you're not _that _dense."

Mike groaned, "C'mon! What was I gonna say?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about 'sorry'?"

Mike pulled a face of disagreement, "She should appologise." He argued, adamantly.

Alex didn't want to argue with him, she'd only asked out of concern for his partnership so she waved her hand dismissively, "Ah, I give up! You're like a big kid."

Mike look gobsmacked, "You give up?" He asked, shocked, "Already?" Alex shot him an unamused look. "I won?"

"Not quite." Alex argued, calmly.

"No, I think I won that one." Mike insisted, a smile creeping onto his face.

She shook her head, "You'll win it when you talk to your partner." Alex turned and walked out of the kitchen leaving Mike to stand there looking like a stunned fish.

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The next day Alex was once again sat at her desk. Her mind feeling heavy because of the dreams she'd had that night. Although she had tried to convince herself, and Mike, that she had not been phased by Declan Gage's sudden arrival yesterday, it seemed her dreams were telling her otherwise. So caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't realise Bobby was late for work until Captain Ross came over to her desk, his glasses firmly on his nose, a report in his hand - half read - and a coffee in the other. "Eames?" He asked, forcing her to lift her face from the evidence she was reading.

"Captain?" She asked, having to blink her eyes back into functioning because they'd been looking at words and letters too long.

"Where's your partner?" He asked. Alex looked across at Bobby's desk and then back at Ross.

"Uh..." Alex was confused. "I'll call him."

Ross turned away frustrated, muttering, "Do that."

Alex rolled her eyes before reaching for her cell phone, once again Ross was annoyed at her partner. Typical. Now she had to deal with it. What bothered her was that she hadn't even realised he wasn't there. Had it been that quiet lately that she'd forgotten him? She knew he was worrying about his mother alot more with her cancer obviously putting her life in danger and Bobby being Bobby would be worrying about her 24/7. She flipped open her cell and at the same time she'd searched for his number he'd walked into the squadroom and sat down at his desk. Alex snapped her cell shut and looked at him. "How's your mom?" She asked, tentatively.

Bobby looked at her, she could see the concern on his face but instead of him answering her question he sidestepped it and peered over at the reports she was looking at that. "Is that the ME's report on our vic?" Bobby asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

Despite her best judgement Alex allowed the change, "Yes, it was on my desk this morning." He held his hand out and she passed it to him. Bobby nodded as he read the report, but Alex could still see that his thought weren't to do with anything that report said. "Bobby...?" She tried but he stood up and walked towards the interview room where he'd left some notes the night before. Alex sighed and realised she should let him be for now.

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Mike was sat at his desk. Megan was sat at hers. Both of them had semi-scowls on their faces as they tried not to talk or look at each other. Megan was tapping her pen against the deak, half out of her own strange habit and half out of wanting to annoy him for being so arrogant with her. She'd already tried to appologise yesterday but he wasn't having any of it so once all the guilt was gone from her mind there was but one thing left to do; annoy him.

Childish, true, but it seemed to be the only way to deal with her new partner.

The tapping ryhthm getting more vigorous and faster in beats. Louder as it did so. Mike kept looking up, sighing in frustration and then back down at his work. The scowl on his face growing as he realised his partner wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. Part of him thinking that if he'd done as Alex had suggested he wouldn't be having this problem now but he wasn't about to admit that it was his mistake. Eventually, when the beating got to be so annoying the whole squad was looking at them, Mike finally made a sound. "Gah!" He clenched his fist into the air in aggravation, "God dammit, Wheeler!" The pen dropped and became still, "Stop that!"

She figured she'd be laughing if it weren't for the fact the whole bull pen had come to a halt as they watched them both. When Mike gave each one of them a scowl, except for Alex, they all went back to their work albeit more quietly. Alex walked passed them with a small smile on her lips, "Childish." She commented, without stopping she went straight into Ross' office to give him a report on their case and essentially, keep him in the loop. Mike rolled his eyes at her, although she couldn't see it, and as he looked up he saw that Megan had a smirk on her face.

"She's right, y'know?" Megan nodded.

Mike snorted, and leaned forward so no one else could hear, "She was referring to you and your pencil problems."

"Of course she was." Megan commented, slightly sarcastic in her delivery.

He just rolled his eyes in irritation and looked back down at his work, not really looking at it. He could tell what Alex was doing and he didn't want it, he appreciated the gesture - sure, but he didn't want the help. He thought he and Megan Wheeler got along just fine, he did not need help.

When Alex walked by, however, she thought differently as she noticed the tense atmosphere between them and the lack of conversation, she knew they had a big caseload so as far as she was concerned they should be talking. She also knew there was nothing else she could do, apart from maybe slap Mike upside the head and force him to, but she knew Mike was too stubborn and he'd probably do the opposite completely.

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"That doesn't belong there."

Mike rolled his eyes again and swiftly turned back around, holding the item Alex had been referring to in his hand. Mike looked at her and frowned, "Why not?"

Alex looked around the bedroom and then at the item in his hand, "Wrong room, don't you think?" She tried to be diplomatical but of course it was coming out slightly sarcastic.

Mike looked down at his hand and then back up at her, shaking his head, "I always keep these in the bedroom."

Alex's eyebrows reached her hairline, "Do you _ever _clean them?"

Mike chuckled, "Only when they really need to be." Alex look surprised, "C'mon, I'm a guy." He spoke with a smirk on his face, the item waving around as he moved his hand.

She snorted, "I guess that explains it." Mike shot her a look, she shook her head, "Washbin." She pointed towards the door, "It's in the bathroom. Use it."

Mike, however, didn't move. His hand still gripping the white vest; the item of topic. "It doesn't need..." His sentence trailed off when he saw the determination in her face. He matched it; for a moment they stood there facing one another, on opposite sides of the bed with stoic expressions, void of emotions, as if they were in a staring contest.

Alex's face was starting to lose it's grip on serious. Her mouth twitching and her eyes starting to twinkle with amusement. She tried to stifle the grin that was threatening to emerge onto her face but she wasn't winning. Eventually, she gave up and started laughing, sitting down on the bed and ducking her head as she laughed and, strangely, tried to hide it from him behind her hair.

"Fine." Mike said, with a resigned voice but also with a grin, "I'll put it in the wash." This caused Alex's laughter to increase in intensity. Mike slowly walked out of the room and tossed the vest into the wash.

When he returned to the bedroom Alex's laughter had subsided into a low chuckle. "I can't believe you." She said, through small giggles.

Mike shrugged, sitting down on the bed next to her, "It needed washing."

"So...? The reason it was on the floor, was...?" Alex asked, hoping for an explanation, although there was still a smile in her voice. Mike shook his head, with a small laugh, and he didn't need to say anything; Alex understood why he had done that. She playfully elbowed him in the ribs, "Typical male."

Mike snorted, amused, "Well, I'd hate to disappoint." He placed his hands on the lower region of her back and pulled her towards him, she allowed him to do so.

"That's very considerate of you." Alex commented, as her body was pressed against his.

Mike kissed the tip of her nose, "Well, that's me, the get-along kinda guy." Alex snorted but she didn't speak of what was on her mind, already deciding that she shouldn't push Mike on the subject of his partner, instead she brushed her lips against his; teasing him.

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Mike was sat at the steering wheel of his car as he and his partner, Megan, drove in downtown New York as they had planned to do so to speak to their most recent suspect, Corin Ford. "I don't think he's our guy." Megan suddenly commented, as Mike stopped the car at the red light. Mike glanced at her but didn't say anything, knowing she'd explain when she got fed-up of waiting for him to respond. "He wasn't connected to the victim."

"Yeah? We'll ask him."

Finally feeling like they were getting somewhere now she'd got a response out of her partner, Megan looked at him and continued, "And what if he confirms that he doesn't know the victim?"

Mike glanced back at her, a frown on his face, "Then we'll check." Megan sighed and turned back to look out of the windshield. "What? You think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Megan turned back to him, "You don't believe in that sort of thing?"

"No." He answered simply, not choosing to elaborate on it either. The case had been grueling so far, and the bickering silence between the two partners had only increased the hardship they were suffering from. The victim had been killed, hung-up by the very thing she'd been strangled with; a bicycle chain, and then shot by 9mm weapon. She, Alana Moani, was studying in New York to be a journalist. "I don't think she came all the way from Hawaii to get herself whacked!" Mike turned to Megan, a hard look on his face, "_That's _what I think."

When they finally reached the home of Corin Ford, the stepped out of the car and allowed themselves to frown at what they were seeing.

Nothing.

Nothing but a deadly silence and a deserted building. Mike turned to Megan, accusation written all over his face. "Did you get the address wrong, Wheeler?"

Megan shook her head, looking down at her pad, "No. This is definitely it."

Mike looked at the building, brick dust covering the ground, a wooden eroded door just simply laid over the hole in the wall to block it. "You still think he was at the wrong place at the wrong time?" Megan didn't answer Mike's question, she just stepped forward to meet him and then they walked towards the 'door'. "Should we knock?" Mike asked, sarcastically.

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Of course, no one had answered and Mike never expected anyone to, so after arguing with his partner on the rules of breaking and entering, they finally pulled the 'door' away from the building and went inside.

Only to find more dust and more broken bricks, metal bars and gates. Pieces of chewed up wood and rat droppings. Hearing a noise that resembled footsteps, both detectives pulled out their pieces and looked at each other. Mike indicated for Megan to one way whilst he went the other and she followed his instructions. Finding other rooms that looked as dark as the first as well as dirtier. Filled with old style bedframes and a pee-soaked mattress.

Mike stood for a moment, his weapon aimed towards the ground as he looked around the room that must have been a bedroom. His mind suddenly wondering if their victim, Alana Moani, had actually been here. His thoughts were cut off by the sound of a weapon clicking behind him. He slowly turned, his own weapon aiming towards the source;

A young man in his mid-twenties; rough dress and dirty skin, unclean. He stood there aiming his own weapon at Mike. "Police." Mike said, calmly, hoping his badge was visible. "Drop the gun." The man shook his head at the same time another click was heard in Mike's ear. Mike used his eyes to look to see what it was and he saw another man, older, aiming a weapon towards Mike's head.

"You drop yours." The man said, strongly.

Mike lifted up his hands to show surrender and slowly lowered his weapon to the ground; as much as he wanted to fight he didn't see himself winning this one. A thought rushing through his mind _Where the hell is my partner? _

----------------------------

TBC

You wanna know what happens next? Please review. :)


	3. Chapter 3

This story is doing what most fics like to do; it's writing itself. My muse is taking me places that I wasn't original intending to go but I trust her so ... lead on.

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

_Where the _hell _is my partner? _

Mike's mind was racing. His eyes darting around as he tried to take everything in all at once; remaining calm on the outside and remembering his training. The two men, dressed in dull and dusty clothes, still had their weapons trained on him. "Who are you?" Mike asked, calmly. He watched as they glanced at each other as they communicated through their eyes; Mike felt frustrated, unable to read the silent conversation they were having with each other.

Mike figured they were at least close friends.

The one who had his weapon near Mike's temple answered in a deep, throaty voice, "Not your concern."

"Yeah?" Mike asked, hoping to keep conversation alive because he knew the moment that died so did he.

Mike's hands were still up in the air, he wasn't ready to make a move simply because he didn't have one. _Where's Wheeler? _He worried for her safety as well, what if there were others in the building? "Who are you?" The younger man asked, his arms straight and his aim seemed to be accurate.

Mike made a shrugging notion with his face, "I'm an NYPD Detective."

The look on the younger man's face showed Mike that he was inexperienced with this kind of action. Mike really hoped that that information would help him. Looking at the younger man, concentrating on him and the anguish written all over his face, Mike continued. "Did you know Alana Moani?" He asked, refusing to allow his own voice to give up any fears he was feeling over the two guns aimed at his head.

The man beside him spoke louder, booming with his anger as he did so "Shut up!"

Mike ignored him and looked at the younger man, "That's why I'm here." Mike was about to say 'we' but he didn't want to reveal Megan's presence if she was actually safe, which then led to him wondering where she was again. _Why hasn't she come to help? Two on two is better than this! _"I'm lookin' for a Corin Ford." The man beside him tensed, anger rising. _Shit _"I'm not here to start a fight. I'm here to help."

"All cops say that, man."

"I'm Corin." The younger man interrupted his friend from speaking any further. They shot each other a look. "But it ain't got nothing to do with you."

Mike's arms lowered slightly; partly from the gravity pushing them down. "Okay, okay." Mike hoped this situation would calm down. "Then let me go, I'll get out your hair." Mike hated bargaining with crooks, no matter how small the crime he hated it and this was no exception. However, his life was on the line and he needed to get out safely before he called in any big guns.

"No." The older one shouted, harshly. His voice a sharp knife cutting through the tense situation. Corin didn't say anything; Mike didn't either because he didn't get the chance. His partner was finally found.

Captured. "Look what I found." Megan had a bleeding nose and a nasty cut on her forehead, she'd obviously been attacked; the man holding her up looked more rough than the two boys keeping Mike at gun point.

"She you're partner?" The older one asked, angrily, grabbing Megan on the new arrival and shoving her towards Mike. "You'll be staying together. Lock them up!" He ordered, the new one quickly taking their handcuffs off them and tying them to the pipes that were attached to the brick wall.

"Wheeler? You okay?" Mike whispered, as the three men walked away from them to the other side of the room, weapons still trained on them. Megan nodded slightly.

"Yeah." She whispered back. At least she sounded calm.

They both stopped talking when they realised the others were speaking; deciding this was the best time to get some kind of information. "Not again." Corin said, whispering. His voice showing fear and panic, a concern for what was being repeated to him.

"They walked in." The other man said, justifying their actions.

"They're cops." Corin argued, "People are gonna come lookin' for them."

"And what they'll find are two dead bodies."

"Which they'll be able to trace back to us!"

The older man looked at Corin with disgust, "Something tells me that's why they're here." His tone of voice showed his accusation towards Corin.

"You knew Alana, didn't you?" Mike asked, hoping this wasn't going to earn him a knock on the head and a lights out moment. "This is what you did to her, isn't it?"

Megan looked at Mike, confused for a moment, unsure of who was who and not quite knowing what Mike was referring to. Her injury still making her feel too woozy to keep a tight concentration on everything that was happening around her. Corin never answered but both detectives could see the guilt on his face; only irony was they'd solved the case and now it looked like no one would know.

Then, of course, his cell phone began buzzing and the three men looked at him with faces a mixture of disgust, fear and anger. Mike winced a little, for the first time he was hoping that it wasn't Alex who was calling him.

---------------------------

Clock watching.

The worst thing you could do. It makes time seem to move slower and you feel more irritated than you should but Alex couldn't stop it. Watching the clock on the wall, the digital clock on the DVD player or the watch on her wrist. Her face screwed up in confusion; Mike was never this late. Never. Sure, he was could be very tardy when he wanted to be but not to such an extent. She smoothed down the fabric of her black cocktail dress once more with her hands and then sighed with frustration.

Fed-up with waiting she decided to go back to One Police Plaza and haul his ass back out of there so that they could go out for that dinner he'd promised her. Alex's impatience was once again the reason she was getting annoyed. Grabbing her coat and purse she quickly fled the house and rushed towards her car; her annoyance growing as she drove all the way back to work. Continually ringing his cell phone only to throw hers back on the passenger seat when he went immediately to voice mail.

She couldn't quite understand why she was being so angry about it; it had occured to her that he was probably tied up in all of his cases but for some reason she wasn't seeing it that way. She quietly chided herself for being the nagging girlfriend and she momentraily considered going back home.

But as she drew closer to 1PP she decided not to bother turning around.

When she walked into the Major Case Squadroom her anger, annoyance and irritation dissipated quickly to be replaced with concern and worry. "W-what's going on?" She asked Bobby, who was still there. The whole office was buzzing; unusual for a time when most officers would have clocked off already.

Bobby's face told her everything she needed to know.

Alex turned quickly and rushed into the Captain's office, feeling Bobby was hot on her heals as she did so. "Eames?" Ross said, recognising her and not having to motion her into the office because she went in anyway. "I've been trying to contact you. It seems that Logan and Wheeler have been held against their will. When I called his cell earlier I got a brief message from an unidentified male telling me not to bother."

Alex's face became pale as Ross' words sunk in. Guilt was there along with fear, concern, panic, worry, and all whole bunch of emotions that she knew were just playing on her face for all of them to see. "D-do we know where they were last?" Alex asked, having to push the sentence out of her mouth with a lot of emotional force. She could see the sympathy on their faces and she didn't want it.

Ross shook his head in the negative. "We've got people looking over their case notes, trying to re-trace their steps." Ross gave her soft, concerned look, "I was hoping you might know something." Alex shook her head trying desperately inside to gain control of herself. Alex looked at Bobby, feeling the need to draw strength from something but all she found was her partner looking as concerned as their Captain and still giving her the sympathy look. With a hard sigh she found a seat and quickly landed on it.

--------------------------

It was dark.

Too dark.

The dust from the bricks were making her lungs feel heavy, her chest tightening as she tried to breathe without coughing. "I can't move. You?" She asked her partner.

She heard his wheeze from the dust and then mutter "No."

"I can't believe they left us alone." Megan commented, mostly to herself but also to keep the silence from deafening her.

Mike snorted, "I doubt they've gone far."

If Megan could've shot him a look she would have. But the dark even prevented her from visibly getting back at him. Megan tugged at the binds that were holding her to the pipes; they'd used ropes to assist the handcuffs in keeping the two detectives in one place. Megan had to admit to herself she was afraid. She realised that this must have been what had happened to Alana Moani, their victim who they were now about to join. "This must have been how Alex felt."

She sensed rather than heard Mike's frustration. There was a moment of heavy silence before Mike spoke angrily at her, "Don't. Don't bring that up, Wheeler."

"I'm sorry." Megan apologised, mentally giving herself a slap for being so stupid. "I was just saying that I can partly understand what she must have gone through."

Mike's breathing was loud, almost like a drum, "The two situations are completely different."

"How so?" Megan asked, hoping she wasn't pushing her partner away.

"Alex was on her own." Mike muttered quietly, he knew they needed to work together as a team to get out of this but it seemed they were at a loss as to how to do that.

There was flicker of light and both detectives looked up to see the menacing man from earlier, the one who'd beaten Megan, coming towards them with a torch; purposely shining it into the eyes to blind them and keep them from trying anything, not that they could. "You." He pointed to Mike.

Mike couldn't quite make everything out with the light in his eyes but he could just make out an arm blocking the path of the light and pointing towards him. "What?" Mike spat.

"It seems you're Mr Popular!"

"Oh?"

Mike felt a concern wash over him, "Yeah. Someone called Alex keeps trying to call you." Mike's heart sank a little as his mind quickly flashed back to the past few days where his dinner with Alex was continuously canceled due to both of them having case work to do and getting back home to late to go out; immediately remembering where he was meant to be now, he figured that's why she was calling him. What he couldn't understand was why these people would care. "He needs to stop calling you." The man had obviously got Alex's name from the CallerID that came up on the screen.

_He? _Mike's mind couldn't help but pick up on that but he wasn't about to correct him for his mistake. "Well if you give me my cell back, I'll tell him for ya." Mike tried, albeit unsuccessfully.

The other man chuckled evily, "I don't think so, detective. Nice try though."

"Thanks." Mike muttered, sarcastically, doubting the sincerity.

"We don't want them tracing any calls." The man's voice had the sound of a threat being made; instantly recognised by both detectives was the air of finality that came with his words.

"Right." Mike nodded, his face showing something other than serious, "Got it; no tracing."

The man seemed annoyed at Mike's attitude but he quickly turned, taking the blinding light with him, and left the two detectives alone again. Once it seemed the man had left earshot, Megan sighed, "Is it really necessary to taunt them?"

Mike pretended to consider this for a moment before answering, "Yes." With a more serious voice he then added, "Look, Wheeler, if this is the same thing that happened to Alana, it won't matter what we say - they're gonna kill us anyway."

Megan started fidgeting and shuffling, her backside sweeping up the dust from the floor onto her pants as she did so; her body trying to free itself from the firm hold of the ropes keeping her in place. Several moments later she sighed in frustration as it seemed she was getting nowhere. With a hopeful voice she told him, "Well, if we can loosen these ropes-"

"I'm nearly out." Mike interrupted. Megan's eyes opened wide although he could not see.

"What? How?"

Mike grinned, "Practice."

Megan rolled her eyes in disgust, "Ew, I'm not sure that I want to know." Her voice remained calm despite the little tidbit of information that had just been revealed about her partner. Now really wasn't the time to be asking him to elaborate anyway - they were still being held hostage.

"Sssh." Mike whispered, causing Megan to immediately stop moving, her ears burning as she realised he was hearing something she wasn't. "Someone's coming."

----------------------

Ross certainly felt heavy; his day had lasted so many hours he'd lost count. He'd been preparing to go home when this had happened. Once again, detectives of his squad were being held prisoner or killed; he really didn't know what had happened to Mike and Megan. And although he knew he'd be getting it in the neck for what was happening he wasn't concerned with that, he was concerned with the lives of his detectives, one of whom he knew very well and cared for because of that friendship. Looking out the window of his office he could see Alex sitting at her desk, desperately searching through Mike and Megan's case notes to find out where they could be, waiting for results although he knew that when the time he would not be able to allow her to be involved.

Judging by Alex's state of dress he knew what was originally meant to have happened this evening and he worried about her state of mind; again. It seemed to him she was becoming a magnet for negative occurences but he had to admire her strength, if this had been his ex-wife...

Ross shook his head and opened the door to his office, taking many strides towards her desk. "Eames, why don't you go home? I don't think there's anything more we can do ton-"

"No." Alex interrupted stubbornly, her eyes never moving away from the papers before her.

Ross looked over at Bobby who just simply shrugged, there was no way he was going to tell her to leave it alone - this was Mike, and Bobby knew it would be an argument he'd never win. Ross pulled a chair and sat at side of Alex's desk, looking directly at her. "Eames, until we know where they are there is nothing you can do."

Alex finally looked up in a flare of anger, "How about find where they are?" Her voice was louder than she'd intended but her fear for Mike's safety had overwritten everything else in her mind. "You can't find them unless you look. As a Detective I'm actually good at looking." The attitude and sarcasm rolling off her tongue was to be expected. She looked at Ross and tried to calm herself a little, "Captain, I cannot go home and sit, and be one of those little women who cry in a corner hoping and praying someone will find him. That's not me."

Ross nodded, he had nothing to say to that. But the respect that had been building up for her just increased. Ross look at Bobby, who nodded, understanding the silent order to look out for his partner; as he always did. Standing up, Ross walked away from them and Alex sighed before looking back down at the papers, immediately moving some and making notes of what she thought were possible leads that they would've used.

It was then she felt these intense eyes looking at her; without looking up she said, "What?"

"I-it's nothing." Bobby replied, obviously implying the opposite.

Alex snapped her head up and looked at him, "What?" She repeated, more angrily than before.

"It's just that w-we may not find what we're looking for in the case notes-"

"You want me to go home." She interrupted, accusing him. Bobby didn't answer. "No, I don't see the point in that. You of all people should know that."

Bobby nodded, "I do."

"Then for God's sakes just help me instead of looking like I'm about to break like a china doll who can't stand on her own two feet without the help of every one around her." She stopped speaking and took several deep breaths, taking in Bobby's expression of acceptance and a little hurt. She just nodded in response and lowered her head back down to look at what she felt she should be looking at.

----------------------

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

A/N My sincerest apologies about how late this next chapter has been posted. I had planned to post two days ago, but I've not been well enough to finish the chapter and proof read it - too dizzy, I'm afraid. But, never mind that, here is the next part.

**Podie1 **- LOL. I love all your different chants. My muse thanks you for the comment about her. ;)

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

In hindsight he really should have seen that coming; it may have been dark, but something about the whole situation should have told him it would not be _that _easy. Now, he cradled his arm trying to assure himself it was not broken from the fight that had ensued when he and Megan and tried to escape.

It wasn't broken. It hadn't heard it crack and he was chanting to himself that if it cracks, it's broken.

"I think I should take a look at your arm." Megan said, determined but weary of his reaction. Since their little prison breakout that had now been taken into a different room that had nothing but a locked door and more bricks with dust.

Mike coughed, "With what light?" It was still dark as the night was still at it's peak of darkness and so was Mike's sarcasm to go with it.

She sighed, "Sorry." Megan sounded weary, tired, and Mike could detect a small amount of fear eminating from her voice. He couldn't blame her, things weren't exactly looking bright and cheerful right now.

Mike got the impression she was not referring to this particular moment and he sighed, "I don't want an apology, Wheeler."

"Well, you're getting it!" Megan semi-snapped and Mike was forced into silence, not sure of how to respond and not really wanting to. He wasn't too sure what she was apologising for.

_"Sssh! Someone's coming!" Mike's whisper was the kind that forced Megan into silence. The only sound was the footsteps that were definitely heading in their direction. Both of them froze, forcing themselves into the stillness of an inanimate object. It became very apparent that there was more than one of them this time the moment the torch lit up the room; there were 6 of them. _

_Megan and Mike both noticed the absence of Corin Ford. _

_"What'd you guys want?" Mike asked, casually; his mind quickly trying to look for escape routes and a way out of this. _

_He found none. _

_"Not you." One of them answered darkly. _

_Mike's confusion lasted all of 0.2 seconds before he looked at his partner and then back at the man who had spoken. "I don't think so." Mike said, dertermined, trying not to show that his ropes had been loosened. _

_"I don't think it's up to you." He retorted. _

_Megan felt herself swallow air; Mike turned back at her, hoping this wasn't going to go how it seemed to be heading - the way it went for Alana Moani. No sooner was Megan pulled out from her ropes was Mike up on his own two feet trying to pull them off his partner. Unfortunately for Megan Wheeler, Mike was losing the battle with them, although he was valiantly continuing, despite the several punches already delivered to his face. _

_He grabbed several guys by the shoulders and tried to pull them away; punching whoever came near him without hesitation but there was no opening, until..._

_He managed to grab Megan's arm, and then he swiftly pulled her towards him; she pushed several men away from her as he did so. Now, with Megan behind him, Mike shot the attackers a sharp, deadly look, "You stay away from my partner." He spat, blood at his mouth and dripping from his left eye where they'd landed some painful blows. "I mean that, you touch a hair on her, I'll kill you." _

_They watched Mike carefully, waiting for a let-up, although he was unsure why - he _was _outnumbered. "Is this what you did to Alana?" Megan asked, hoping she didn't sound as shaky as she thought. She felt Mike touch her arm to tell her to stop and she did. _

_Without warning, two of them the men plunged forward and grabbed Mike by his shoulders, slinging him towards the wall with a satsifying thud that caused a new kind of darkness to envelop him, his mind succumbing to it quickly as his slid down the wall and his body formed a heap on the floor with the dust. _

... "You've got nothing to be sorry for." Mike told Megan, back in the present and back to wondering how to get out of this situation. Wryly, he thought to himself that Alex was going to kill him when she found out he was in _another _fight; that was, of course, if he wasn't already dead when she found out.

"Still." Megan said, quietly, "I'm sorry."

He tried to look up at her, but all he saw was darkness, "Did they hurt you? I don't remember anything after turning to jello against a brick wall." He managed to move his arm, and found his hand wiping fresh blood from the cut on his lip.

She shook her head, although he couldn't see that, "No."

He held his arm and pulled himself up into the seating position; satisfied with her answer. "Apology accepted, Wheeler. Now-" He paused, opening his eyes wide as he looked around the room and gathered his strength, "-where are we?" His breathing was ragged as he struggled with his own fatigue and the fresh injuries he'd just had delivered.

"Well, after you were knocked unconscious, we were both dragged into some kind of cell." Her explanation was almost humorous, and he would've believed it funny if he didn't have a headache the size of the New York Tri-State area.

"Cell?" Mike asked, picking up on her terminology and wondering if she meant it in the literal sense.

Megan sighed, "Well, for lack of a better word, yes a cell." She paused briefly before she explained, "It was dark and for good measure, they blindfolded me."

Mike snorted, "Well, at least they're going about it the right way." He tried to look at her but all he managed was his head pointing in the general direction, "So what we talking? Locked door? Guards?"

"All of the above." Megan replied, dryly, her voice sounding strained and tired.

Mike just had to ask, "You got a spoon?" Megan chose not to respond to that.

---------------------

Bobby felt that the words he was reading were beginning to meld into big, giant cohesive sentence of useless information. Mike Logan and Megan Wheeler had alot of cases, as did he and Alex, but there were just too many leads to follow up and none of them were showing the promise of being what they were looking for.

With a look of concern he turned to his partner; her sleeping form almost sprawled out across her desk, losing her battle with herself to stay awake. It was now early morning and Bobby hoped that the sleep she was having now would be enough to give her the energy to get through the next day because he knew that there was absolutely no way he was going to get her to go home. He didn't; Alex had been kidnapped and Bobby hadn't even stepped within several square miles of his home so he couldn't expert her to do so when it was _Mike_ who had been taken, he knew how much he meant to her.

And, Bobby couldn't forget that Megan also deserved the attention and the work put in to save her life as well. It seemed that most of the squad was working on this, the same as they had done for Alex, all of them pulling together to try to find their colleagues and friends.

Ross was still there and Bobby was reminded of that when the dark, curly haired Captain walked over to him with a soft look on his face; unusual for Captain Ross. "Take her home."

Bobby shook his head, clasping his hands in front of him as he carefully formed a sentence that was both respectful and determined, "She'll wake if-if I move her and then she won't sleep."

Ross sighed with a hard intensity and then nodded, "Okay, what have you got?"

Bobby's hands began a sliding motion as if he was moving objects around in the air, "I-I believe that yesterday they were working the Moani case." Bobby explained, pausing in both the verbal and the physical explanation before continuing, "They had-had many leads on that case, alot of them were loose threads and obvious dead-ends."

"Oh?" Ross asked, wondering how Bobby could've possibly caught up on the two week old case already.

He nodded in response, his hands almost floating in the air as he spoke before rubbing his lips with his fingers, "I've already ruled out Mohammed Jenkins, he has an alibi that I've managed to get a confirmation on. I've also ruled out Corin Ford, who just happens to be a fellow employee at the New York Ledger."

"No connection?"

"They didn't even work on the same floor." Bobby explained. "However, this guy-" Bobby pulled out a sheet and showed it to Ross, "He claims to have been a boyfriend to Moani and that she cheated on him, he doesn't say who with. T-That gives him a motive at least. It's possible Logan and Wheeler went to speak to him."

"You're thinking he has the rage capable of this?" Ross asked, hoping Bobby's lead so far turned out to be helpful but Ross couldn't see a boyfriend doing something to two cops, no matter how enraged he felt over his cheating girlfriend.

Bobby shrugged, his voice half-whisper and half-shout, "I don't know."

However, upon hearing a groan they both turned their heads to look at Alex, whose arms were slowly moving towards her body and her head was being carefully lifted from the table under her own consciousness. "W-what?" Her groggy mind not even registering that she was still at the MCS squadroom.

"Eames?" Bobby asked, quietly, "You okay?"

Alex's head shot up completely and she sat up, spine straight as she looked at both men at the other side of the desks. Ross looked at her and then back at Bobby before looking at her again, "Detective, I'm advising you to go home and get some sleep." Ross used his best authoritative voice.

Alex shook her head, "No need, sir." She tried her best to sound cheerful, "I've had-" she checked her watch "-a good hour or so of quality sleep." Cheerful didn't quite work at such an early hour, her face dropped when she saw it was only 5am and all she could see in her minds eye was Mike, and she really had to supress the worry she was certain that was appearing on her face; possibly never even left it.

Ross shot her a look. Alex shook her head again, insistent, "No, really, I'm fine." Both men did not look convinced but she ignored the sympathy looks and shook away the fear, she looked at Bobby, "What did I miss?"

"Uh- we have a possible lead." Bobby started.

Alex raised an eyebrow and then looked at the sheet Ross was holding out towards her. After she skimmed over a few details she looked at them both, "Okay, so what? 5am isn't too early for this." She stood up and grabbed her coat, "Let's go."

----------------------

Sleeping on a cold, dusty and hard floor is not recommended. As a matter of fact, Mike figured warning people would not be enough. The ground was uncomfortable against his back, still bruised from the fight and ending smash against the wall; his arm being gingerly held above his chest. He really did hope it wasn't broken. He'd had enough broken bones to last a whole lifetime. "Well-" He heard his partner speak, quietly, sounding far away from him, "-On the bright side, I think it's morning."

"Good morning." Mike told her, sarcastically. Taking note of the fact she was right, there were streams of light coming from under the door that was allowing them to at least see where the door was. This would help them, Mike hoped. He slowly, painfully with grunts, stood up and tried his hardest to look around the room something more than brick and more brick.

Not finding any, he looked towards Megan, finding that he could actually see her now and he could see she had her own injuries. "You okay?" Mike asked, almost casually but there was a touch of concern.

Megan nodded, "I'm alright." She looked down at herself, noticing the small cuts and bruises, "They're just superficial."

Nodding, Mike gestured towards her, "You think you can stand up?"

Frowning, she asked, "Why? You got a plan?"

Mike gave her a small grin, "I'm coming up with one." He responded, cryptically.

Still confused, Megan stood up more easily than Mike had, finding her legs a little more co-operative. "Such as?" She asked, once she was stood up straight.

Mike tried to be positive, "As in I'm coming up with one."

"Oh." Megan replied, sounding slightly defeated.

"Hey, why don't you come up with one!?" Mike told her, defensively, raising his voice. "This _is _a partnership y'know!"

Megan smirked, "I'm glad you realise that." Mike clamped his mouth shut, realising he was perhaps taking things the wrong one in his groggy state of mind; the last thing they needed was to fight now when they should be working together.

"Yeah." Mike muttered, turning away from her and looking at the locked door, thoughtfully.

Looking at the way he was thinking, Megan decided to voice her opinion, "If you're thinking we should wait until someone opens the door and then surprise attack him, you should know that they've probably prepared for that."

Mike sighed and turned back to her, "Well then I got nothin'!"

"Well I do." Megan told him, unable to hide her anxiety from her voice even though this was her idea.

Mike raised his eyebrows and looked at her with curiosity. "Yeah? What's that?"

"Corin Ford feels conflicted about this, maybe talking to him would allow us to have an... ally."

Mike snorted, disapprovingly, "So you want to shrink the guy? You don't know what he's thinking."

"If I talk to him I'll be able to find out." Megan argued, defensive.

Mike shook his head, "How do you plan to do that?" Seeing so many flaws in her suggestion that the cracks in the floor could have swallowed them whole.

Megan hesitated.

"Well?" Mike asked, making a movement motion with his hand, trying to wind her up and get her to tell him the rest.

"I let them take me."

Mike was shocked. He spluttered, "What?!"

"I let them-"

"No, I heard you." Mike interrupted, "That's a bad idea."

"It may be the only way-"

"Did you not see what happened to Alana Moani?" Mike asked, raising his voice a little, concerned for his partners' safety, "Did you not read the ME's report?"

"I don't want that to happen to me either." Megan agreed, "But this may be our one best chance of getting out of here."

"Says you." Mike argued, not convinced, "I say we kick down the door when they open it. I like my idea much better."

"And go out fighting?" Megan asked, not convinced, the sound of disapproval in her voice.

"Exactly." Mike nodded, leaning against the wall and then lowering himself to floor, and giving his partner a hard look, "They take you; we're split up - That lessens our chance for escape."

Megan looked at him, thoughtfully.

"And you know as well as I do-" Mike continued, "-that there is no way in hell that convincing _one _man is going to change our predicament. I don't know whether you noticed or not but this Corin Ford has not been in to see us at all."

"But you heard his doubts. We could use his help." Megan argued, more softly.

"I don't care about his inner conflicts, Wheeler!" Mike commented, harshly, "Let's just concentrate on getting _us _out of here." After a moments consideration, Megan conceded defeat to her partner and nodded.

---------------------

TBC

I don't think I've ever really gone for anything like this; if you notice any mistakes or errors or have any suggestions then please let me know, I'll correct them as I go.


	5. Chapter 5

**shadowfang666 **- The title refers to the relationships/friendships/partnerships within the story rather than the handcuffs and ropes that are holding Megan and Mike to the wall. Sorry it wasn't clearer :( Forgive me?

**Podie1 **- Wow. Thank you. :) Hopefully this was posted fast enough for you...

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

The green cushion sofa was in ruins and as Alex looked at it she knew there was no way in hell she'd be sitting on it; sponge was coming out from underneath the green fabric and it had that lived and died feel about it, food stains trying to replace the colour. Instead of taking the offered seat she turned back to the boyfriend of Alana Moani; a man that she and her partner, Bobby, had woken up from his sleep when they had knocked on the door of his one room apartment.

The boyfriend, Rick Schaffer, was quickly spilling out excuses and reasons for the two Detectives to not be in his home early in the morning. "You know, I've already spoken to two detectives about this already. I have to go to work in a few hours." He whined, almost like a child. He was wearing a towel bathrobe and pyjamas, Alex thought he'd looked similar to Arthur Dent but not so funny. His dark blonde hair was mussed from sleep.

Alex gave him the irritated look, "Well, lucky you for you we've saved you from waiting for your alarm."

Bobby turned to look at her before looking back at Rick; his look was one of concern and conveyed to her that she didn't need to be so sarcastic this early in the morning. She silently allowed him to continue, knowing full well her mouth was going to get her into a trouble and normally she wouldn't care but she wanted to find Mike and Megan as soon as possible.

"Mr Schaffer, i-in your interview with Detectives Logan and Wheeler, you stated that you felt Alana was ... cheating on you?" Bobby asked, wanting to get passed the man's agitation. The man nodded, unconsciously scratching his arm, "Why?"

He sighed, "Look, I told them, she was working late, she kept answering phone calls and then just leaving without explanation and when I asked her if it there was another man she just-" he shrugged, "-sidestepped the whole thing as if I was making it up."

"Do you have any idea who it could've been?" Bobby asked, curious because most men would have some idea.

Rick, however, shrugged, "I figured it was someone she worked with."

"A-at the Ledger?" Bobby asked, looking through his notes, his tired brain being a little slower on the uptake than usual, "Where she was doing work experience?"

"Yeah." He replied, a sound of annoyance in his voice and stifling a yawn.

"Well it could have been someone she met outside of work?" Alex asked, looking directly a Rick with a no-nonsense look on her face.

"Hardly." He commented.

"Why?" Bobby asked, taking note of the way he seemed to have a low opinion of Alana.

Rick almost looked ready to explode but Bobby doubted it was from his question, more to do with the early hour of the morning, "She was either studying or working. She would've never got the chance to meet anyone else. _That's _what I told the others. I don't know anything else, I wish I did, but I don't. You're wasting your time, Detectives _and _mine."

Alex and Bobby shared a look and then they nodded at Rick. Bobby snapped his leather portfolio closed; interview terminated.

Once they were outside the apartment building and stepping into the SUV, Alex commented, "He was right about one thing." Bobby looked at her as he sat in the passenger seat. Her face was unreadable, she was purposely concealing her emotions from him and others; building that brick wall up high, "We are wasting our time." Despite the hard look on her face and despite the level voice she used, Bobby could tell from her words what she was saying, he could hear the undertones of her frustration; she clearly felt they were chasing the wrong lead.

She started the car and pulled on her safety belt. "Eames..." Bobby started, but he didn't know what to say.

"It's not the boyfriend. He knows nothing." She didn't look at him, she just began to put the car into motion.

"I agree." Bobby told her, honestly. Alex glanced at him momentarily, "It wasn't him, there would h-have been no point in asking about Logan and Wheeler, he couldn't have known."

"Whatever." Alex spoke with a sigh, "We're barking up the wrong tree."

Bobby stared ahead through the windshield, desperately hoping to find the right words to give her; a word or two to offer comfort but really, it would be so small and pointless, he didn't really have one to say. "Eames, I-I'm sure we-" he paused for several beats, noticing how she was gripping the steering wheel like she was on a white knuckle ride, "-we _will_ find him... them."

Alex just nodded and kept her entire attention on the road; she did not want a pep talk and she certainly wasn't going to give him any indication that she was about to allow herself to be plunged into one; she let him have the last word.

-----------------------

He coughed. He was sick of coughing. The dust from the old bricks was causing his lungs to hate him, he was sure. He had to wonder briefly that it had done something to deserve it but it had taken him a short amount of time to come to the decision that he needed to stop coming up with stupid notions and fairytales. If he'd done something wrong, he'd have known what it was, this was just simple bad timing and poor luck.

He could hear Megan coughing too; he knew that wasn't him unless he could throw his voice like a ventriloquist.

Mike looked towards her, swallowing another cough, "You okay?"

"I actually wish they'd get it over with." Megan commented, darkly. Her back pressed against the brick wall, her shoulders drooped and her head leaning back with her eyes looking up toward the ceiling.

Mike snorted, regretting the action but he felt that itch of a cough in his chest again. He tried to ignore it. "You really want them to kill us?" Mike asked, a disbelieving tone to his voice.

"No." Megan replied, completely removing her previous statement. "No, I don't. I just don't want to be sitting here."

"Hey, I'd rather be doing something else to but you already nixed my idea." Mike retorted with an irritability of a grounded teenager.

Megan held back a similar retort and just looked at him, trying to figure out what he wanted her to do. It annoyed her somewhat that they still weren't on the level with each other; that they weren't using that same wavelength that partners needed to have. She did wonder if they would ever really find their footing or did he just not want to? But, deep down, she knew this was not the place to be trying to set the markers for a partnership and deal with everything they needed to.

"Maybe," Megan started, quietly, "someone will find us."

"Yeah?" Mike asked, sounding unsure and unconvinced. And why would he? Nobody had been to rescue them yet and he doubted it would happen. "I don't know about that one, Wheeler." She looked at him, a quizzical look on her face. Her fresh, young looking face creating a few small wrinkles as she frowned. "Seriously, you wanna wait for a _rescue_?"

"You don't think Alex will be looking for you?"

Mike looked at her, the question replaying in his mind, the words bouncing of the sides of his mind. Resounding and echoing before he responded, showing no emotion but that didn't mean it wasn't there, "Oh, I'm sure she'll be looking. But that doesn't mean she or the rest of major case will find us." Truthfully, he hoped she was sleeping and not getting herself all worked up but he also knew that probably wouldn't be true. He knew her and he knew enough to know she'd probably be worrying and trying her best to hide it; he knew himself and he remembered his reaction. Oh, how it had come full circle.

"But they would be reviewing our case notes. It would make sense to look there first." Megan argued softly.

Mike shot her a sarcastic look to go with the sarcastic words that were about to shoot out his mouth, "Why? Did you leave post-it note on where to find us?"

With an irked look on her face, annoyed, she seemed to physically retreat slightly before she completed recovered, "Of course not. But we are here and that information will be in our notes, they just need to look for it."

Mike snorted, "Wheeler, I know you know just how many active cases we're working." She nodded, reluctantly seeing his not-so-subtle point. "It could be days before they even manage to at least be on the right track." He sighed, "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not wait that long."

"We might not have that long." Megan concluded, with a glum look on her face and the sound of doom in her voice. "Which is perhaps why my idea might work better." Mike shot her a look of disagreement but she continued, "It might help buy us some time."

"Key word there, Wheeler, _might_." Mike argued, no doubt in his mind as he spoke with certainty, "You go out that-" he pointed towards the locked door, "-door and there is a huge possibility that you will not coming back."

They heard the sound of someone jangling keys and Mike's concentration moved away from his partner towards the door he'd been pointing at; still pointing at. He looked at his index finger and then quickly lowered his arm to his side, his hand brushing the ground as he looked back at Megan with a look of worry on his face.

Then the lock turned and the door squeaked as it opened. Once it was open they saw two men standing in the threshold; one of them was Corin Ford.

------------------------------

One more screwed up piece of paper and Alex felt her patience twindle to the point of zero. The counter was probably heading much below zero but she couldn't care less. As she sat in the interview room at the Major Case Squadroom, her pen furiously writing down their interview notes with several people from Mike and Megan's case they'd been building; her anger building along with it.

She heard a click and fleetingly glanced at Bobby before settling her eyes back at the papers in front of her. "Eames?" He asked, the rest of his question written all over his face - _What have you got? _

She looked back at him. "I've got nothing. Zilch. Nada. Zip." He could see the anger coming from her like a thunder storm, one he should be careful not to become a lightning rod to. "There are _no _leads, no positive ID on them, nothing that could possibly even explain what happened. It's like they just disappeared off the face of the Earth. And I refuse to believe that because sailors found out the Earth was round and you can't do that anymore!!" As she spoke her voice grew in intensity and volume. She fell back into her seat and tried desperately not to throw anything.

"Eames-" Bobby started but he never got the chance to complete.

Alex interrupted, "Why are we doing this? Why are looking into leads on this case when we should be looking for them?" She asked, desperately needing to know the answer because she was so frustrated at the way they seemed to be just taking on their cases instead.

"B-because the answer lies in amongst all of this." Bobby idicated towards the table piled with folders, the floor filled with screwed papers and folders. Alex looked at them and then back at Bobby. He took one look at her tired expression and he heard her distraught sigh and he immediately stumbled into words, "You should go home, Eames, get some sleep and then come back with a refreshed frame of mind."

"Look who's talking?" Alex asked, sarcastically and rhetorically. She then shook her head, "No."

He saw her resolve in her eyes and he felt it futile to argue, although every fibre of his being was telling him to do so. "Okay." He said, rubbing the back of his neck and moving further into the room. "I-I've been reviewing the Moani case."

"Why?" Alex asked, "I thought we decided that that wasn't the right scent?"

Bobby nodded, "Yes, b-but I was thinking about what Schaffer said, about how Alana was cheating with a co-worker."

Alex rubbed the bridge of her nose and looked up at him, "Do you know how many people work at the Ledger?"

"Yes, so I've been trying to see if we can eliminate any candidates." Bobby explained, showing her the file he had been holding, he placed it in front of her before realising he was showing her the wrong one. "Oh." He flicked a few pages over and then pointed to the page.

"It's not alot of narrowing." She commented, unhappy with the results.

"I-I know." Bobby agreed, "But it's a step in the right direction."

She sighed and looked up at him, "Maybe, maybe not." He waited for her to continue because he knew there was more to that. "Bobby, they were working more than a dozen cases, about as much as we are. There is a big chance that this case is not even connected to what's happened to them." She looked around the desk and pulled out the crime scene photos of Alana Moani being hung from a ceiling at her student accommodation. "Look at her. She was killed, tortured and raped before she was hung in her own home to be easily found. If, and I stress _if_,the same thing had happened to Mike and Wheeler, we'd have _found _them already." She slapped the file back down on the desk. With a growl in her voice, she continued, "They've been missing for almost 24 hours!"

Bobby pulled out a chair and landed himself on it, fidgeting a little as he allowed her words to sink in. What she was saying made sense and he watched her looking at all the folders splayed out in front of her and him. "Eames, we have to follow all their leads so that we can eliminate the ones that are useless. I-I promise I'm not trying to solve their cases for them." He watched her eyes start to dart around the room as she mentally refused to look him in the eye, "I want them back almost as much as you do." She looked at him, "I think there is a huge possibility that their disappearance is connected to the Moani case; call it intuition but t-that seems to be the strongest - uh - possibility."

A defeated look fell across her face, "Then they're dead." An image of Mike being hung from ceiling next to his partner was enough to cause Alex's empty stomach to hurl, she swallowed it, she refused to be sick.

"Not necessarily."

She looked back up at him, confused by what would make him say that. He quickly explained, "There are two of them, w-we don't know the reasons or the motive for killing Alana, it's possible that they're alive."

Alex didn't look or feel convinced.

-----------------

Her whole body felt heavy. Shivering from the cold that she felt both on the outside of her body and within her mind. Megan took several deep breaths and just continued to lay on the stone cold floor. It wasn't something she was used to; she'd never been held hostage before and she'd never been beaten by such a violent group of people but she knew that she was fairing much better than her partner who had tried to protect her at his own undoing.

He wasn't here with her anymore. They'd taken him and she had no idea where he was. She just hoped that he could do what she thought she could have done. The irony was, although it was her idea, she didn't like it anymore, not now she was alone. Not now she knew that it wasn't her, she was okay with sacrificing herself; she didn't like to choose for others.

She hoped. She prayed.

Laying in the dark, breathing in the mist of dust, she prayed.

-----------------

TBC

I think I like this chapter more than the previous. I'm not 100 sure, but it's because I didn't find this one so much of a struggle to write.


	6. Chapter 6

**Podie1 **- Your welcome, and I'm sorry you couldn't reply. Your review was enough for me, thank you very much.

**LoganBarekFan** - Hopefully this chapter is the medicine required for your emotional health that I inadvertently played with, ;).

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

Mike felt sick, sick to the stomach. The sharp pain in his arm was the least of his troubles as he looked around the 'new' room. Bigger, brighter and yet it was colder; cold enough to send unwanted shivers down his spine. He pushed them away, refusing to physically feel the cold. His knees and toes touching the floor in the kneeling position that he had been forced into.

Looking across the room at the stone wall. The way the rough edges appeared to be smooth, even though small peaks protruded from the wall like sharp knifes. Staring at the wall, Mike felt a sudden urge to leap out of the room and just attempt that elusive escape he had wanted to try before. And although that urge was strong, beating like a loud drum in his ears, he had no choice but to ignore it because of the man standing beside him, watching him like a hawk and ready to pound on him the moment he moved. Mike knew he'd be dead the very instant he pulled any kind of stunt.

And in his mind death would do him little good if it couldn't help to save his partners' life.

As he heard footsteps behind him he knew that this was the moment of truth; he hoped the moment of truth didn't end with his death but it didn't look like he'd get a choice on that. With his back straight and his eyes wide open he waited for him to speak.

He didn't speak.

Mike looked at the man curiously; he'd not seen this one before. He had a big build, but he wasn't overweight, he just had the muscles of a trainer and the height to top it off. His dark hair was shaved almost to the skin and his eyes were small yet piercing. He wore simple black clothes that clung to him like a second skin. Annoyed at the way they seemed to be studying each other, Mike decided to open his mouth, "Who are you?"

The man looked at him, regarding him thoughtfully, as if deciding whether he should bother answering or not, "I'm you're one hope of ever seeing sunlight again."

Mike had to bite back a comment on his name being especially long and a mouthful. He figured that would just earn him a punch and a swift kick that was sure to be painful.

"How's that?" Mike asked, eyeing him suspiciously but trying to keep it neutral.

He raised an eyebrow in response, "You tell me what I need to know, I'll let you go."

Mike was incredulous, "Just like that?"

"Consider it your lucky day."

"What about my partner?" Mike asked, already dreading the answer. He could she wasn't in on this little deal, if she had been she'd be there with him.

"That pretty young thing?" He asked, condescendingly, "She'll be staying with me."

Mike grunted in disagreement, "No, I don't think so."

"You're making a mistake, Detective. I'm offering you the best you chance you're ever going to get at saving your own skin. Take it, while the offer is still on the table?"

Mike shook his head, "My parter has to be included or there is no deal."

He shot Mike a deadly look, "You don't even know what I'm asking."

"I don't care." Mike countered. He didn't want to leave Megan alone, she was his partner and no matter how much it seemed they didn't get on, he could never ever leave his partner behind. The last thing Mike saw before all the lights went out were the fingers on the hand of the man, clenching them into a fist and quickly sending them towards his face.

----------------------

He sat with that far away look on his face. His hands near his face, his elbows resting on the silver coloured table. His fingers slowly rubbing his hands; thoughtful. His legs moved slowly underneath the desk, moving with his thoughts, like a pattern, a dance. Bobby stared, he simply looked at the papers in front of him; his eyes rolling over each sheet as they searched for a possible connection, a possible clue to help them with their case, to help them find Mike and Megan before it was too late for them.

He knew that a giant clock was ticking and if he didn't find the answer before both hands reached each other then it would be too late. He also knew that he was missing something, some vital detail, something that was so obviously missing but not so easy to find.

But he had to find it, he had to see it.

His eyes were darting from paper to paper, picture to picture, word to word and he closed his eyes from the strain. He couldn't see what he was looking for, he could do this all the time but now that it really mattered he was having difficulty. His thoughts kept going back to his mother, her cancer and her illness, knowing she'd be calling him soon because he hasn't been to see her since they went missing.

But, he has to do this first, for Alex. For Mike and for Megan.

----------------------

Meeting the wall with a violent tremble isn't exactly the best way to lean against the wall, but then he was being thrown by someone who was clearly enjoying his sport. Mike closed his eyes at the contact with the harsh surface, his mind wishing he'd stayed unconscious for this one. Mike put his hands up onto the wall and pushed himself away from it; keeping one up as he used it to give himself some balance.

He could feel the wet yet warm sensation and he knew he was bathed in blood, possibly enough to create a second skin when it dries. He looked at the man, keeping his head up high and maintaining direct eye contact with him.

Mike then watched him; waited for the next move because he wasn't going to go down without a fight. At that thought an image flickered through his mind and he tried to bury it; Alex's face was stubborn however and she remained in his eyes as the man plunged towards him in an excited fit of violence and rage. Mike managed to move part of his body out of the way; his face moved and his attacker ended up with a head injury of his own as he came into contact with the wall. The man grunted and groaned but he recovered soon enough to cover Mike's face with his hand and pull him away from the wall, using his head as a dog lead; dragging him towards the centre of the room.

Mike was then allowed to drop to the floor in a bloody heap. He took several deep breaths, and when he realised the absence of his attacker he took several more deep breaths. The absence was short lived but Mike took this opportunity to refuel his strength and body, and his determination; gearing himself up for what was to come.

And without disappoint it came; the foot that had made contact with Mike's ribs was meant to do more damage than it had, simply because Mike had moved with the contact making it less painful for himself. Forcing himself to stand up quickly he took one look at the attacker and plunged himself towards him; on the offensive. It came with such a force that Mike actually managed to daze him when they'd reached the opposite wall. Mike didn't wait to see what effect this had had on his opponent, he just went straight for the jugular. The sound of a bone being broken reverberated around the room like a rush of wind, it caused the fight to come to a complete halt. Mike staggered slightly as he tried to keep some kind of realistic hold onto the conscious world, watching the other lay limp on the floor; crumpled up and appearing to be lifeless.

A thunderous clap then echoed around the room. Mike winced as the sound jarred against his headache; ignoring it he looked behind him and saw something he did not expect.

The young man standing at the doorway with that proud parental yet cynical look on his face; he didn't have a strong physicality about him and he almost looked like a potential loser but Corin Ford now stood there with a viscious evil grin on his face. Mike didn't know whether to thank him or hit him. With his lips pursed together Mike stood still as Corin slowly approached him; eyeing the man on the floor and out cold. "He was my best man, detective."

Mike blinked, "Yours?" Mike looked down at the body and back at Corin; he hadn't realised that Corin was the leader of the pack. "Your best man?" He couldn't keep his voice from sounding incredulous, nor he could keep himself from sounding breathless as he spoke.

Corin didn't answer, he just shot Mike an unamused look and then continued to walk around the room; circling Mike like a predator.

Feeling very much like the prey, Mike asked, "What now?"

Again no answer. Frustrated and annoyed, Mike looked back at the body on the floor and seriously wished he was still conscious, a fight he could handle, a one-sided conversation with an obvious psycho he could not; that was Bobby's territory, not his.

Remembering Megan's words, Mike decided that perhaps he should take a chance and put his foot in it, it certainly didn't look like his situation was going to improve all by itself and he needed to get back to her. "Why are you keeping us here?"

"Simple." Corin finally answered, although it was cryptic.

"It doesn't seem that simple to me." Mike responded, wiping his lip and wincing at the sore feeling that touch provoked.

Corin stopped moving to Mike's relief; the circling motion was enough to send him dizzy. "I'm not keeping you here, detective. You are, it's that simple."

Mike frowned, "I'm simpler than that; explain it to me!"

Corin chuckled, not out of happiness but from his amusement at Mike's obvious sarcasm. "You turned up here, and you refused to take the offer laid out to you by my friend-" Corin pointed to the man on the ground "-here."

"We came here just to ask you some questions about the murder of Alana Moani!" Mike almost snapped, he had to hold himself back, his temper was coming to the boil and he wasn't sure how much of a fuse he had left. Mike did, however, notice that Corin seemed to emotionally recoil slightly at the mention of her name. "Obviously, we've found the killer."

"I didn't kill her!" Shouted Corin, angrily and guiltily; he took several steps forward to show an aggressive stance. "It wasn't me!"

Mike couldn't help but sense denial coming from the younger man but this wasn't the place and he to be quite honest with himself he truly didn't care; if Corin really did kill her then all he wanted to do was lock him up, not help him with his feelings on the subject. "What happened to her?"

Corin took two steps backward and his face showed remorse, "I don't know."

"Is that gonna happen to us?" Mike asked, and upon seeing Corin's frown he continued, "Well, whatever it is that you don't know about, is that what's gonna happen to us?"

No answer. Mike felt like rolling his eyes; looking at Corin he just shook his head, watching each other in silence as if waiting for the next move.

The next move was not to come from one of them.

---------------------------

Bobby had been pacing the room for a good 20 minutes when Captain Ross opened the door of the interview room and poked his head inside. "Detective? How's it coming?"

"N-not... Not well." Bobby felt defeated, but he didn't want to give up. Looking up at Ross he sighed, offering him something, anything, "I-I believe that if w-we find Moani's boyfriend... or s-someone she came into contact with..." his sentence trailed off into oblivion.

"So you've got nothing." Ross commented, it almost felt like an accusation to Bobby.

"Not yet." Bobby said, with reignited determination. "Not yet."

Ross walked into the room fully and closed the door. "Goren, we've got others working this case and I've sent your partner home."

Bobby raised his eyebrows in shock, "Y-you got her to go home?"

"She was dead on her feet." Ross replied and Bobby got the impression that Ross had perhaps threatened her with something he knew she wouldn't refuse but he didn't ask, he knew she'd tell him later if she wanted to but he was relieved that she'd gone home; rest would only do her good at this point and he had nothing to tell her. Ross looked at the papers all of the walls, the floor and the table. "What about someone she worked with?"

Bobby looked at the back wall, "It's possible b-but there were alot of people working at the Ledger."

"I know." Ross said, "But don't forget we're meant to be following leads that Logan and Wheeler would follow. Where would they go?"

Bobby looked at the wall, pondering the question _Where did they go? _What route did they follow? Curiously his eyes skimmed over every page like he was speed reading a novel, darting up and down, left and right as he thought intensely about it. He was certain he was on the right track but which road did he take now?

"Uh-" Bobby turned to Ross and pointed his index finger at the Captain and then at the board, "Logan and I worked differently." Ross nodded as Bobby launched into a stammering and babbling explanation that he knew would make sense, he hoped would make sense. "I've been going about this the wrong way. I've been trying to s-solve the case... thinking that the outcome would lead us to Logan and Wheeler." Bobby shook his head, and as he legs began to make him move around the room, his neck bent and his hand rubbed his neck as he tried to get everything he was saying out of his mouth, "What I should have been is seeing this from their perspective. I always look for the 'why' but Logan looks for the 'where and when'." Bobby paused in his tracks and looked up at the board again and then flicked his fingers in a 'hey presto' fashion. Quickly turning back to Ross with realisation written all over his face. "Ford."

"Ford?" Ross blinked, "Where are you getting that?"

"He-he was in their notes. I didn't see a connection because it wasn't an obvious choice, there was no reason for there to be but w-with Logan all he would've seen was timing, and an opportunity for there to have been a crime; leaving no stone unturned to-to catch the criminal."

"So?" Ross asked, "It was your belief he and Wheeler were after the why that meant you chased the wrong lead?"

Bobby nodded, feeling like he'd accomplished something and failed all at the same time. "We should speak to Corin Ford and try this their way."

Ross nodded in agreement and they quickly rushed out of the door.

-----------------------

The house may look smaller than most and it may have a lot of items, belongings and material things within the walls but Alex felt like it was a void; a huge house that felt empty. No sound as nothing was switched on. She couldn't understand how it felt so empty when she and Mike had only been living together for a little over two weeks; it made no sense for her to feel his loss in such a way so soon after allowing him to inhabit the same home together.

It may not have made sense to her but it's what she felt as she lowered herself slowly towards the sofa and carefully, almost gingerly, sat down. Breathing heavily as the weight of what she felt started to dawn on her; her fear for Mike's safety had been gnawing at her all day and night but she had tried to move past that, she'd tried to ignore it and now that she was alone she'd could practically hear the teeth of fear biting on her. Allowing it to overtake for a small moment was all it took for the tears to form in her eyes, creating small wells before overflowing and washing down her face like a waterfall.

Closing her eyes she tried to hold back the sobs that threatened to escape her throat; her hand quickly flying towards her mouth to cover the sound. Her other hand gripped onto the cushion of the sofa like a lifeline, her fingers digging into the material without tearing it.

Locked in that moment of despair to the point that time almost stood still; so much so she didn't hear her cell phone ring until it was almost at the end of the ringtone. With her eyes open, her hand fell back to her side as she reached for it and she took one look at the caller ID before sighing, closing her eyes and then quickly, ashamedly wiping the tears away. She took one big collective sigh, a re-group and then she answered it, "Eames." She tried to keep her voice level and she cursed herself when she heard it waver uncontrollably.

On the other side she could hear Bobby's thoughts and concern for her all the way through the network; she ignored them. _"Eames? I-I... We have something." _

The cell was snapped shut in an instant and she rushed towards the door, without looking back.

----------------------

TBC

Okay, so I've never done a fight scene quite like that one before, I hope it came out alright. Sorry you got this one later than I originally intended, but Choir kept me longer than I thought it would. Let me know what you think so far by hitting that little review button below these words... :)


	7. Chapter 7

Wow, thank you so much everyone for the reviews, they are all appreciated believe me. :)

**Podie1 **- I wish I could tell you whether or not they get rescued soon but really, it's one of those 'you'll find out when you read it' kinda things... hehe :D Thank you muchly.

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

With his entire body curled into a ball; Mike lay on the floor like a hurt child. His mind felt blank, empty and devoid of any thoughts. He could feel the cold, rough floor against his skin; scratching the abrasions on his flesh and irritating his nerves like fire. He felt something softly caress his shoulder and he cautiously turned to see a short-haired woman kneeling beside him; a look of pure concern in her eyes. "Logan?" It was his partner; he tried to lift his head up but he felt weak so he gave up trying almost instantly. "Logan? What did they do to you?"

He coughed and tried to clear his throat, "They, uh-" he coughed again, finding that his voice sounded alien, "they tossed me about for a bit." His words did little to ease her concern. As a matter of fact it just seemed to intensify it. He just closed his eyes and tried to ignore the way her eyes were burning into his skull with her worry for him; he didn't want it.

Reopening them he looked back at her and tried to offer her a small smile of encouragement but it came out as a grimace when pain shot up his arm. "Logan, did-" she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "did they say anything to you?"

"Yeah." He croaked, "They were real chatty."

Megan ignored his blatant sarcasm, "What did they say?"

Mike slowly sat up, regretting the movement a little as he felt the pain all over his body like a second skin. He was pleased to find he was next to a wall so without any hesitation he leaned against it for complete support. "Oh, uh, yeah, they offered to let me go."

She frowned, looking him over as she checked his injuries before meeting his eyes in confusion, "How come you're still here?"

He shrugged slightly, quickly deciding to not do that again, "I refused."

She shot him an incredulous look, "You refused? Why?"

Mike opened his eyes fully and gave her his own look of confusion; he thought it was obvious and a sudden flash of doubt sprang though his mind over whether she would do the same for him. "You wanted me to leave you here?" Realisation crept across her face; she shook her head instead of saying anything. "We leave together." He told her with determination; he wasn't about to start leaving his partner behind.

Giving her a once over he noticed that she, at least, looked relatively okay so he could at least feel relieved that she hadn't been injured or involved in her own fight.

------------------------

The moment she'd parked her car in the bay of the parking lot at One Police Plaza she was already stepping out the door and rushing towards the exit; her legs had been tired but she kept going because the anxiety of finding out what it was, was almost too much for her to bear.

When she'd noticed how busy the elevators was she'd zoomed straight past them and headed for the stairwell; not caring at all at that she had to run up 11 flights of stairs. She'd actually reached the major case squadroom relatively in one piece; only out of breath a little, which was a testament to just how fit and well excercised she was.

Now, she was stood next to her desk as she gave Bobby an impatient look as he tried to explain his reasoning behind what he thought to be their next best move. But the way Bobby was talking wasn't clear enough for Alex's fatigued mind to completely get a grip on. All she managed to get was 'Logan works differently to me' and 'I think we should talk to Ford'. "Bobby." She said it with enough emphasis that he had no choice but to stop. "I'm not sure that I follow."

Bobby was taken back by that; they always followed each others train of thoughts.

"Who is this Ford?" She asked.

Bobby quickly realised that he was speaking to her about a past lead that she'd not been aware of. "Oh, right, he works at the Ledger. I originally came to the conclusion t-that he wasn't relevant to their case."

Alex frowned, looking at him with a confused expression on her face, her brow burrowing as she did so, "When was this? I thought we weren't trying to solve their case, just find them."

"I-I know, and that's what we're doing but, you see, I was going about it the wrong way." Bobby quickly replied, sensing her confusion and detecting some hurt radiating from her as well.

"How so?" Alex asked, trying to squash her irritability; knowing that it wasn't his fault they were missing.

Bobby showed her a sheet and she noticed it had Corin Ford's name at the top. "So?" Alex asked, shoving the paper back at him, "He has a sheet; it doesn't mention kidnapping or murder."

"No, but Logan would've at least gone to speak to him. I believe this was there next move."

Alex then nodded, realising what he was suggesting and she completely understood; they should be following the footsteps Mike and Megan had left behind. She suddenly hoped they'd left breadcrumbs around because she knew as time passed, the likelihood of them not being alive increased exponentially and she didn't want to waste any more precious time; she shot Bobby a look and nodded to communicate she wanted them to move now.

Bobby understood her silent communication quickly and he grabbed his leather folder and they quickled headed out of the squadroom without any hesitation.

---------------------

"He _lives_ here?"

There was a certain incredulous tone in Alex's voice that her sarcasm couldn't mask completely. As they stood next to the parked SUV outside of the 'home' of Corin Ford; their eyes roaming over the entire building. Derelict and obviously abandoned but huge in size and when Alex stood near it she practically disappeared.

"It doesn't exactly look very home-like to me." Alex continued, she shot her partner a look, annoyed and irritated, "Are you sure you got it right?" She had no idea how she was matching Mike's initial reaction to the building, except she wasn't speaking in jest or humor; she was being serious.

Bobby smiled briefly; trying not to take her her words to heart, knowing that she didn't mean it that way. "Yes. This is the correct ... address."

Alex murmered a sarcastic, "Hmm." and took a step forward; surprised when Bobby's hand quickly grabbed her upper arm and sharply pulled her back. She shot him an unamused look; anger flashed in her eyes but she covered it up. "Bobby? What are you doing?" She pointed towards the building, "Shouldn't we knock?"

"Y-yes we should." He agreed, but there was a hint of hesitation and uncertainty in his voice. He used his own eyes to get her to look to her left; quietly indicating for her to look that way, and she did.

What she saw caused her to take a step back and raise an immediate eyebrow; Mike's car hood peeking out from behind the far east wall. She hadn't seen it; of course she had no doubt that Bobby would've noticed it but it concerned her for a moment that she hadn't even noticed it. Her concern for herself dissipated quickly only to be replaced by a sudden realisation, fear and anxiety of the fact that this meant that Mike and Megan _was _here and could very well still be.

Alex turned back to Bobby and they came to an immediate decision.

------------------------

A rush of air swept through the room that caused both Mike and Megan to quickly turn their heads towards the door; the conern on their faces heightened by the arrival of two men. Mike and Megan shared a look that was a mix of horror, humor and worry. Without warning or a sign of hesitation, Megan stood up and placed herself directly inbetween Mike and the two men. She gave them a gravely serious look and silently threatened them with her eyes.

They simply matched her look with a few deadly ones of their own but Megan stood her ground; refusing to let them take him this time without a fight. She already felt guilty over the last time and the previous incident with the FDNY earlier in their partnership. "Move." They ordered her, with a low and harsh tone of voice.

Megan didn't even have to shake her head in the negative, the look on her face told them all they needed to know. But as they began their forward movement towards her they stopped...

A different sound resonated in the room; a sound that came from somewhere else.

The two men turned to each other as they shared a look of surprise. Megan quickly glanced behind her at Mike to see if he'd heard it as well; it seemed he had because he also had a surprised look on his face. Without any sign or warning the two men turned hard on their heels and quickly fled the room, only just remembering to lock the two prisoners inside behind them.

Megan turned back to Mike, her eyebrows reaching her hairline as Mike said, "It looks you scared 'em off, Wheeler." She would've smiled at the comment if he didn't sound so distant and pained. Megan knelt down beside him as he felt himself fight with the waking world and his right to stay in it. "Remind me," he paused, "to never have a staring match with you."

"I will." She told him, with an air of promise. She held his face trying to get him to look at her and stay awake as his eyes began drooping in a downward path. "Hey!"

His eyes immediately flew open. "What?" He asked, sharply; annoyed at being woken up because all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Stay with me, Logan. This could be a chance for your plan to work." She told him, as she looked towards the door. "Obviously something is going down we could take advantage of that."

"Oh." He muttered sarcastically, "Now, you wanna try my idea!" He coughed and cringed at the pain in his whole body, "Why not when I _could _pull it off?" His eyes closed again and Megan sighed in frustration.

"Logan!" She called out to him harshly, not wanting to shake him physically fearing she'd cause him some more damage. "Logan! Listen to me." His eyes fluttered open a little, "C'mon, get up and get moving because I can't carry you."

He gave her a serious look with a pained expression on his face he regarded her carefully, "Wheeler, go without me."

Megan was surprised to hear him say that; he'd fought so hard and she couldn't believe he was giving up but there was a determination in his face that told her he was being deadly serious. "I appreciate the thought but I'm not leaving you." She almost growled that sentence out, she tried to pull him up but he wouldn't let her do so. With a heavy sigh she stopped trying and looked directly at his face, "What about Alex?"

His eyes quickly opened again and he seemed confused by her question. "What about her?"

"Would she really want you to give up?" Megan asked, answering his question with a question of her own.

Mike looked at her with a hard look on his face; not appreciating the low verbal blow his partner was using, "Don't."

"Well, would she? Because I don't think she would, and something tells me that she wouldn't want to find your dead body in here so you best get moving, Logan, because I don't want to be the one to tell her that you just gave up!" Her voice raised in volume and intensity, her eyes flaring with anger and her jaw set in determination. Mike looked at her, his lips tightly sealed together, his mind reeling a little from the verbal attack and he was unable to deny the truth from her words; despite the way she'd sounded so angry with him, he knew that wasn't the case.

"Fine." He used his hand to grip her arm as he purposely put his full weight onto her and together they got him off the floor with a few curses and shouts of pain and aggravation.

"Now," Megan said, with a moments smile, "That was easy."

"Yeah." Mike muttered, "A piece of cake."

---------------------

Each foot that he placed on the ground made a nicely sounding crunch and crack as the loose stones beneath his shoes argued and screamed at the weight being placed upon them by such a tall and heavy person. Bobby ignored the way his shoes were scuffling with the floor; his eyes darting around the entire room with his weapon drawn and his senses on full alert. His mind going over details whilst he did this; what he was doing now, what had led to this and where it could possibly go. Scenarios rushing around his head whilst he kept his eyes peeled for movement and any sign of life within this derelict building that was referred to as the home of Corin Ford.

He felt something brush past him and his feet stopped moving; Bobby turned around slowly and stayed still as he looked around the room. Although he couldn't see what had caused his sense to feel alarmed, he could almost feel the presence of another person in the room as if he was being preyed upon by a predator in the wild.

The resonating sound of a barel clicked and Bobby's hands slowly appeared beside his head as he turned to see that a piece was definitely aimed at him by the hands of young man; Corin Ford. Corin looked at Bobby's badge and nodded, "I've been waiting for another cop."

Bobby deduced that this meant he had Megan and Mike. Bobby nodded. "I thought so."

"I must admit you took longer than I thought you would." Corin commented, comfortable in his position of power.

"Sorry about that." Bobby apologised sincerely, with the absence of a smile on his face. Bobby looked down the weapon and then into Corin's eyes, "What now? Are you going to kill me, or...?"

Corin nodded, and Bobby wasn't sure whether he was agreeing with the first question or with the rest that had disappeared off the edge of his sentence. "I've got a better idea." Corin replied, after a few moments consideration.

"Actually..." A female voice spoke at the same time a second click echoed around the room. Bobby couldn't resist a proud smile when he saw his partner press her piece against Corin's temple. "I've got another idea."

------------------------

TBC

Sorry if parts of his came off cheesy but it refused to be written any other way. I'm also sorry that it seems to have ended on another cliffhanger... but, oh well, what can you do?


	8. Chapter 8

**Podie1 **- Wow! My head quite literally grew as I read your comments. ::blushes:: Thank you so much. :)

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

It was ironic.

It seemed everybody within the room had some kind of power in their hands; well, everybody except for Bobby, but his power was in his mind instead. As Alex held her weapon high with no need to aim as she pressed the barrel against Corin's temple; applying enough pressure to show she was deadly serious with her implied threat.

However, Corin's weapon was still in the grasp of his fingers and aimed towards Bobby's chest; he had no doubt he would miss. Still, he didn't dare to move his head and he couldn't ignore the way Bobby had that slight smug look on his face that told him that Bobby knew his partner would carry out her threat if she felt the need to. Keeping his voice steady, Corin said, "I could kill your partner right now."

Alex, however, didn't miss a beat, "Your finger so much as twitches, you're dead." Her voice was stentorian and calm, almost spoken with a growl.

Corin didn't dare move his head, but he looked at her out the corner of his eye.

"Drop the gun!" She ordered, each word punctuated correctly, leaving no room for mistake. She glared at him with one raised eyebrow and pursed lips. "Drop it, now!" There was a moment of hesitation in Corin's eyes; a moment where he wasn't really sure what to do, a moment that Alex could see and it was a moment he knew could be exploited. He hoped that she didn't pick up on that; his hope was unfortunately misplaced and before he had time to react or cover his own mistake, he was laying flat on his back as Alex used her own leg to trip him up from behind.

He effectively landed with a crunch, a snap and a boom; the dust on the ground disturbed by the mass weight landing on it. Without hesitation Alex stood on Corin's hand, the one that held the weapon, forcing him to let the gun go. Alex kicked it away from his reach and then continued to aim her weapon down at him as Bobby moved forward to stand beside her and look down at Corin.

As they both trained their sights on Corin as he lay on the floor, defenseless, neither were aware of the figure buried in the shadows, masked by the dark and well aware of the fact he is was unnoticed...

"Now," Alex started, still using her strong, no-nonsense voice and continuing to aim her piece directly at his head. "Where are they?"

Corin just stared.

Alex rolled her eyes, "Answer the question!"

Corin lifted his chin up slightly and then tilted his head to the right, "They're dead." He spat the words out viciously.

With raised eyebrows Alex looked at Bobby and they both shook their heads back at him. "I don't think so." Bobby told him, with a slightly less harsh tone of voice than the one Alex had been using. "I-it wouldn't make sense for you to kill them... They weren't Alana."

Corin physically paled at the mention of Alana Moani; his strength diminished by the fact he was laying on the floor and underneath the scrutinising gaze of Alex Eames and the intense look of Bobby Goren. However, Corin pushed that down, deep inside himself where he hoped that neither Detective could see it. "I don't know anything about that."

Alex snorted disbelievingly.

Bobby looked down at him, "I think you do."

The ruffling sound penetrated their ears and both of them suddenly looked around the room; their eyes scanning everything, looking for anything moving or breathing. They didn't find him until it was too late. They both knew it was too late when not one, but two men stood aggressively with weapons aimed at them. Corin's back-up approached both Alex and Bobby with snarls on their faces and hate in their eyes. "Step away." One of them ordered, sharply.

"And drop the gun!" The other shouted.

Seeing this as one of those no-win situations, Alex had no choice but to drop her gun to the ground and raise her hands, as did Bobby, above her shoulders and take several steps away from Corin Ford.

"Good." One of them said, patronisingly; he turned his head to his colleague and nodded, "Check on the prisoners."

Without any further hesitation, Corin regained his mental and physical strength and dragged his body back up off the floor. Shaking it off, he looked at them with mock disappointment.

----------------------

"Are you sure you can do this?" Megan spoke, with an air of uncertainty, doubt and concern. She stood with her legs slightly apart; broached for action and fully prepared as she stood by the locked door that stood between them and freedom.

Mike shot her an annoyed yet confused look. The frown reached his voice, "What? You got me up, Wheeler!" He coughed uncontrollably, covering his face as he did so and not just out of politeness but also because he was embarrassed by his weakness.

"No." Megan said, feeling the need to assure him and explain herself. "I meant, are you sure you should tackle them first?" His frown did not disappear, as a matter of fact it just deepened. "We don't know how many of them could come to the door... and you're injured."

Mike looked at the door, studying it, and then he looked back at Megan with a small smirk on his face, "At least 2." He then looked down at his own body, it looked battered, bruises and alot of his lost blood was dried to his clothes, "It's just a scrape." He tried to shrug it off.

Megan spluttered, "A minute ago you wanted me to leave you here to die!"

He shrugged, "I've changed my mind."

She couldn't keep the smile from her face. He looked back at the door and then nodded at her, "We'll take 'em together."

They looked at each other and both nodded agreement, then they waited.

Waited.

Mike peered at the door through the corner of his eye.

Still waiting.

Megan shot Mike a look; a raised eyebrow and a quizzical look in her eyes.

"Oh for God's sake. How long does it take?" Mike cursed, frustrated. He knew there was no way his body would allow him to stand up for as long as he was; he was exhausted and he could feel it that fatigue dragging his body down with him and it was a hard battle to fight.

Megan placed her hands on her hips in an annoyed manner.

"You know," Mike said, trying to be conversational and trying to colour over the pain in his mind with words, hoping to forget it, "I spend alot of my time waiting."

Megan opened her mouth to speak but was brought to a vocal halt as they heard a set keys jangling from the other side of the door. Mike motioned with one hand for her to get ready, stay relaxed and she nodded. As the door squeaked into motion, both detectives physically felt themselves stiffen. The door was opening so that they would see Mike first but without any warning, or consultation with Mike, Megan grabbed the doorhandle and pulled the door towards her with full force.

Knocking the wind out of the unexpected one man at the door, whose hand had been holding onto the other side of the door. He took several jolted, jerked steps forward; shocked by the strong pull of the door.

Mike grabbed one of his shoulders and, with as much force as his ill body could manage, he dragged him towards the wall and smashed his face against the sharp wall. With a human body that couldn't bend to the shape of solid objects, the attacker had no way of protecting himself from the wall as it forced an opening into the skin of his head and knocked him out cold. Megan looked at Mike with an impressed look.

The impressed look fell into sudden concern as Mike fell backwards clutching his arm and coughing. "Logan!" She rushed towards him and held him as he continued to the floor.

He tried to sound positive but he heard his voice tremble and croak, "I'm alright."

Megan wasn't so sure but she knew that they'd created a chance to escape and that they couldn't waste it. She looked over the man on the floor and she quickly disarmed him, taking his weapon for their own use and then, without allowing Mike to argue, she grabbed the arm that wasn't injured and pulled it over her head; dragging him up off the floor and supporting his weight.

---------------------

There was something eerily familiar about the way they were being held at gunpoint. She tried not to hear how loud her heartbeat was thudding in her ears, and she tried not to show that she was afraid but she knew she was. This was one of those pesky issues of hers ever since she'd been kidnapped and she didn't like it, she hated the fact she wasn't in control of her own safety.

Bobby had already been trying to talk to Corin about letting them go, just letting her go, and about Alana and how they were connected but it seemed Corin had built strong walls; his defenses couldn't be broken now he had the control. His weapon that Alex had kicked away had been retrived and he was now holding it towards both of them.

"I didn't kill her!" Corin reiterated, annoyed at the insistence and persistence Bobby was showing him regarding Alana.

"Alright." Bobby agreed, not wanting to push Corin too far. "B-but you knew her? Didn't you?" Corin's moved his jaw, locking it to the side as he became angry. "She loved you."

He shook his head, "You don't know anything."

"I know." Bobby nodded, "I know that you don't want to kill us."

Alex felt herself become confused because in her mind it looked very much like Corin wanted to kill them; she had no idea where Bobby was pulling these conclusions from. She had to assume he had something to do with all that staring he'd been doing at Mike and Megan's case notes but that didn't make complete sense to her either.

Corin looked at Bobby and then at Alex; he aimed his weapon squarely on Alex. He then looked back at Bobby, "Are you sure? You wanna test that?"

"C'mon, don't." Bobby tried.

Alex could hear that heartbeat of hers getting louder in her ears.

And she had to cringe when she heard Bobby say, "Let my partner go." She hated that he felt like he had to protect her, again.

Behind the drum of her heart she heard a scuffle. She managed to shift her gaze from Corin towards the corner of the room where it seemed that something had forced the back-up guy to abandon his post. With a frown on her face she glanced at Bobby, who was just as confused by her.

Bobby looked at Corin again, not forgetting he was there. Corin wasn't concerned about his colleague, his safety didn't matter to him. Bobby tried to keep Corin's attention on him and no one else. "Let my partner go, you don't want to do this... I-I think you cared for Alana."

With wide eyes Alex watched as Mike emerged from the shadows holding a piece and aiming directly at Corin's head. She studied him carefully, taking complete note of his pale skin, bloody clothes and obvious injuries. "Hey," Mike shouted, calling attention to himself.

Corin spun his head around, but his gun was still aimed at Alex.

"I'm giving you one chance to drop the weapon." Mike said, unable to keep his voice level for the full sentence and thankful when Megan turned up at his side with a weapon of her own.

The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. Corin turned back to Alex and Bobby, ignoring Mike's threat, feeling it empty based on Mike's obvious serious injuries. "You called before you came in." He theorised, shooting Alex a look of accusation.

She wasn't sure how to answer, she figured offering a snarky quip would just lend herself to get shot.

"Hey." Mike shouted, his eyes darting from Corin to Alex. "Drop it, now!" He didn't drop his gun. Corin spun on his heels and aimed it at Mike, but before Mike had the chance to react there were two shots that thundered around the room, leaving two holes in Corin's chest. Mike watched in shock as Corin's body slumped to the floor on immediate impact. Mike slowly turned his head towards his partner and took in her pale face and wide eyes as she held her weapon out in front of her, freshly fired.

Bobby rushed over towards Megan and leaned forward slightly to see if she was okay, he was satisified that she was when she handed him the gun she'd been holding.

Mike looked at Bobby and Megan, and then he finally rested his gaze on Alex, who seemed to be as much shock as he and Megan. The last thing he saw was Alex's concerned face above him as he lost his battle with consciousness and his own body fell to the floor.

------------------------

TBC

I apologise for the shortness of this chapter... it seemed I had a certain point to write and this is how it wanted to do it. :)


	9. Chapter 9

Well, a certain someone nagged (check the review page) so here it is :)

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

There is that moment before you crash and burn where everything starts spiralling out of your control and you can almost watch it happen as time slows down and unwinds before your eyes as you witness it without being able to directly change it from happening.

Alex could feel that same sense invade her as she clutched onto Mike's heavy body as it fell to the ground in a slump; almost dead to the world but as she watched herself check for a pulse she knew he was alive. His skin looked so pale against her black shirt and his bloody clothes. Alex could vaguely hear her partner shouting over his radio that his unit needed back-up and that a bus was needed but she couldn't concentrate of the words, she couldn't put them into any kind of context. Her own fatigued mind was struggling with the concept of what was happening; she'd found him for which she had relief but she couldn't believe how beaten up he seemed.

She dreaded to think what this could mean.

Shivering as she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Looking up she was surprised to see Bobby standing above her, a picture of concern painted on his face; concern for her, concern for him. "Wha...?" The word didn't even form as she was pulled back a little so that they could see how badly Mike was hurt.

Alex felt so weightless; she knew that this feeling wasn't showing it outwardly, she knew enough to know that but she could see the concerned look on Bobby's face and she could still hear her heart pounding in her ears but now it was for a whole different reason. As she felt Megan tug on her arm, she knew that it was time for them to get out of there, before more danger presented itself and caused them some more severe harm, Mike didn't need any more injuries to add to the ones he already had.

She nodded numbly and allowed Megan to pull her up; Megan also had a pale look about her but Alex couldn't even bring herself to ask the young woman if she was okay, the words couldn't even form. Alex and Megan then helped Bobby drag Mike up off the floor, and as Bobby held onto most of the man's weight, they walked, dragged and ran out of there as fast as they could.

They didn't have to go too far before the help that Bobby had called for arrived, already rushing into the building with men who were armed to the teeth. As they reached the outside world, Megan shielded her eyes and suddenly became aware of how much time she'd spent in the dark. Paramedics rushed over to her and Mike, two surrounded Megan as they quickly helped her and began to attend to her whilst 3 took Mike out of Bobby's hands and quickly placed him on a gourney.

"I'm going with him." Alex's words were quiet but strong, determined to the point where she'd forced herself to finally speak and form words.

---------------------

Buzzing, the whole room was buzzing with activity and people blurred passed her eyes as they rushed to where they were going but Alex couldn't really hear it, she couldn't really see it as she felt herself become numb to everything around. She knew where she was, she was in a coridoor at the hospital with several people as they waited for news on Mike and Megan. Alex was also becoming increasingly uncomfortable and annoyed at how much time was passing, and they were hearing nothing on either detective.

Her father, John Eames, sat next to her with a grave yet supportive look on his aged face but Alex didn't look at him, she kept her eyes glazed over as she stared ahead of her. Still staring, she said impatiently, "They're taking too long."

"They have to be thorough." Bobby offered as explanation, taking note of how tired his partner looked.

"Really?" She asked, sarcastically, finally turning to look at someone and choosing to aim her glare at Bobby, "Because it just seems to me that they've forgotten we're here." Johnny placed a comforting hand on Alex's arm, but being irritable and tired Alex just pulled away and crossed her arms in front of her chest tightly; physically trying to shield herself and not liking the way she was open for all to see her feelings.

She jumped when she saw Captain Ross leap from his chair as a doctor arrived. "How are they?" Ross asked, not waiting for any kind of greeting. Alex stood up and looked at the doctor, having to fight back the urge to tell him to hurry up and answer the question.

"Detective Wheeler has a large amount of dust in her lungs, which we're going to help clear but she'll have to stay in until I'm happy with them." The doctor stopped and Alex frowned.

"And...?" She rolled her hand to tell him to carry on. Nobody argued with her because they wanted him to hurry up as well; frustrated with the way he was rolling it out for dramatic effect.

"Detective Logan on the other hand is not doing so well. We've had him in surgery for internal bleeding, he has several fractured ribs, two fractures in his arm and a concussion..." Alex couldn't hear anymore as she felt herself drop back into her seat. The doctors words were starting to blur and melt into one big mumbo jumbo, but she had heard enough to know that Mike wasn't okay.

"Can I see him?" She asked, not caring if anyone else had been speaking at that time.

The doctor looked at her glumly, "I'll let you know as soon as that can be possible, but right now he's in recovery. I'm sorry." He offered a sympathetic smile and then turned to get back to work. Alex could feel everybody's eyes were on her but she didn't look at them. Johnny tried to offer her a comforting hug but she shrugged out of it and stood up, and then walked away; leaving them stunned in her wake.

John looked at Bobby, both mirroring the concern they were feeling but they both knew better than to follow her. She obviously wanted to be alone so they had no choice but to sit down and wait for some more news. Ross sat with them, feeling useless.

----------------------

Tired.

The fatigue was weighing her down to the ground she was that tired; knowing she hadn't properly slept since they'd gone missing and she doubted she'd be sleeping until she knew more about Mike, or she could at least see him. Alex felt pathetic and useless, both feelings she didn't like. Leaning against the cold brick wall as she clutched onto the foam cup of coffee, trying to find comfort in the sweet taste and the warmth on her fingers but not getting anything but slight relief.

A familiar presence beside her caused her to become frustrated at being interrupted but she let it drop, not having any fight left in her to argue with it. "Eames...?"

She turned to her giant of a partner and did nothing except twist her face up in agony before turning away.

"I, uh, I thought you would want to know that he's - he's out of recovery."

She quickly looked back at him, surprise on her face and a sudden fleeting glimmer of hope.

Bobby offered her a comforting smile, "T-They said you could see him... now, if you want." She passed him her coffee and smiled her thanks before abandoning the cold wall altogether so that she could at least 'see' Mike.

Despite how tired she was, she still managed to make it all the way to Mike's hospital room without collapsing or succombing to her fatigue. Reaching the hallway outside, she looked at her father and at her Captain, "He's in there." Johnny told her, pointing to a room at the end of the hall. She took a step forward but he put a hand out to stop her. Alex frowned at him, "He's not conscious, sweetheart."

She nodded, "I know."

Johnny nodded and let his daughter go.

She quickly rushed to the room but when she reached the doorway she suddenly found herself halting in her tracks; a sudden urge to stand completely still overcame her own need to see him. She stood in the doorway and looked at the bed where a man as white as the sheets lay. Mike's skin was littered with small purple bruises and cuts; one arm was strapped to his chest and there was an oxygen tube taped to his nose to stop it from falling out. She finally took those steps into the room and reached the bed quicker than she thought she would, he'd looked so far away but she'd only had to take 5 steps.

Reaching out her hand, she gentle brushed her finger against the skin on his face as if she could bring comfort to him but she knew that the medication was probably doing a better job than she. So, Alex just leaned forward, pivoting on one leg, and kissed the bridge of his nose.

----------------------

This strange sensation of weightlessness was one he actually liked. He preferred it to the pained heavy feeling he'd been experiencing earlier. It was almost like he was on Cloud 9. The only thing missing was the silver lining. His eyes felt as if they'd been glued together and for a brief moment he physically struggled to open them but once he did he stamped them shut for there was piercing yellow light that was determined to blind him.

But he could hear movement, or at least that's what he thought it was, so he tried to open them again; he did so slowly. Once his eyes grew accustomed to the yellow light he realised it was coming from a small lamp near his head. Strange.

That was when he realised he was laying down flat on his back, in a hospital bed next to an annoying yellow lamp and surrounded by a sickening green curtain. He studied his surroundings a little more, taking note of the drip in his arm and the various wires attached to his body. Had he been that badly injured? What had happened? He painfully turned his head to the right and he found his silver lining.

Asleep in the bedside chair with her knees up towards her chin and her head tucked in and her cheek pressed against the backrest. Her hands clasped together as they held her legs in place...

...There was a sudden white shield in front of his eyes and he managed to place the source of the strange sound of movement he had heard. "Ex-Excuse me?" He coughed, croaked and stammered. Finding his voice sounding the most alien it had ever been. "Hey."

The nurse looked down at him and smiled, "You're awake. How are you feeling?" Her sweet nature didn't rub off on him.

"You're blocking my view." He grumbled, still groggy from whatever it was that had been keeping him unconscious.

The female nurse frowned, looking down at her body before twisting her neck to look behind her; a small knowing smile creeping it's way into existence on her face as she saw Alex Eames curled up into an uncomfortable ball. She turned back to Mike and sweetly said, "I'm sorry." She then took two steps to the side, which allowed him to continue to look at her. He tried to twist a little to get a better look at her but he felt a jabbing pain in his rib and quickly gave up on the idea.

A male voice called out from the doorway, "I think I have seen and heard everything."

Mike's mind was still jumbled and he couldn't completely recognise the voice although it did sound familiar to him. He looked down the bed and towards the door, once he saw who it was he offered him a small smile. "Hey." He offered as a croaky greeting.

Jimmy Deakins smirked as he looked at the nurse and then back at Mike before glancing at Alex's sleeping form. "I never thought Mike Logan would ever look 'through' a nurse." Deakins had heard the rumors, knew his reputation long before he even pulled those strings to bring Mike into Major Case.

Mike snorted and coughed in response. His gaze going to the nurse in question (who was smirking as she listened to their conversation with interest) and then back at Deakins. "Well, what can I say?"

Deakins looked at Alex, who was still sleeping, and smiled. "It's perfectly normal."

The young nurse wrote some details down on Mike's chart and then smiled, "The doctor will be in shortly, alright?" She spoke to Mike, who just grunted in response. "Can you get anything? A drink?"

"Yeah." Mike replied, suddenly realising he was hungry, "some food would be good."

"I'm afraid food is off-limits to you right now." Mike just shook his head, frustrated because he was starting to feel hungry. The nurse couldn't do anything but apologise and smile at him "I'll be back with some water for you." She left the room and Deakins pulled up a spare seat from the corner of the room and sat himself down without grace.

"So, you're my visitor?" Mike asked, still sounding like a strangled frog and feeling like one too.

Deakins look at Alex and shook his head, "You've got plenty of people who care about you in the waiting room." Mike frowned, but didn't ask who it was despite his curiosity; he was already beginning to feel tired and he'd only just opened his eyes.

But he had to find the energy to ask one more important question, "How's Wheeler?" He coughed, "Is she alright?"

Deakins shrugged, "As far as I know she's in a better condition than you, Mike."

Mike nodded as he felt his eyelids droop.

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TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Podie1 **- Hey if you wanna beg, just click on my profile and do so :P Thank you so much for your reviews, as always they are muchly appreciated :D

Thank you to sg who beta'd this chapter for me. You are a star, honestly:D

**Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles**

Impatient and demanding were the two words that had already begun floating around the ward where Mike Logan and Megan Wheeler were staying; although Megan's time in the hospital would not be as long as Mike's. Mike didn't want to stay, he detested the idea, as soon as he recovered from the anaesthetic he knew that he wanted to go home as soon as possible but it seemed everyone else had other ideas. Friends, nurses, doctors and Alex were all saying that he couldn't go anywhere; he had to stay in bed because his ribs needed time to heal.

Mike didn't want to feel useless, he hated being sick and the hospital did nothing but make him feel worse than sick. He felt lethargic, sluggish and fed-up but it seemed no one was leaving him alone long enough for him to sign himself out. He'd only been there for two days, asleep for most of it, and already he was bored. Tiptoeing on the edge of insanity, he finally decided enough was enough and as soon as he had managed to convince Alex that she could use some coffee (and that did take some convincing) he was free to try and sit up.

Pulling himself up onto his one good elbow was more difficult than he imagined; feeling like he was an old, wrinkled and soon-to-be-dead man, he continued on anyway, ignoring the strong ache in his rib and the screaming agony in his arm. Feeling dizzy, a witness to the world spinning round the moment he was in a seating position; he considered this a success despite the overwhelming vertigo. He slowly, and timidly swung his legs from the bed the moment he'd managed to peel back the blanket from his legs. Now all he had to do was remove the wires and tubes that made him look robotic and he was home free.

He'd just begun tugging at the drip attached to his arm when he heard a cough at the door. He stamped his eyes shut and swore inwardly at himself for both being caught and for being unable to leave. When he opened them he found that the person had already crossed the room to meet him and he looked up at her with a regretful but determined look on his face. "What?" He asked, innocently, trying desperately to ignore the fire raging in his chest.

Alex's face was almost stone, her eyebrow raised and she did not look amused with him. "Just what the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Breaking out." Mike replied quickly and simply.

She shot him a hard look, upset and he didn't dare to consider she might even be angry with him - he didn't want angry. "No." She sternly told him.

"No?" He asked, incredulous that she was telling him what to do.

"You heard me." She replied in the same stern manner before her face softened and she lowered her shoulders. "Mike, if you get off that bed I guarantee you'll be on the floor."

"Yeah?" He asked, not sounding as sure as she. "Because I got this far."

"And I'm impressed." She told him, honestly, "But you're not well enough to go home yet. You have fractured ribs and had surgery; don't tell me that that doesn't hurt!"

Without moving his head, Mike lowered his gaze to eye his ribs suspiciously. He looked back up at Alex, "So?" She sighed in response to his question, "When was the last time you went home? Or slept in a bed for that matter?"

Alex was surprised by the question, her health wasn't the issue here, his was. "That's hardly the..."

"-I disagree." Mike interrupted, cutting her off. "Let's go home."

She crossed her arms flat across her own ribs in response to that. "We're staying." She spoke with an air of finality that did not work.

"Alex, I'm gonna end up crazy here. You're gonna end up visiting me in a white padded room." Mike complained, moaning yet having to hold himself up with his good arm.

"Then I'll visit you in the loony bin, you're staying here until doctors say otherwise." Mike smirked a little at the way she said that with such a serious look on her face but his smirk was replaced with a grimace as pain shot up his body like a shockwave. He knew he had been defeated when he felt himself fall towards her and she allowed herself to take his weight; instinctively wrapping his good arm around her torso as she held onto him carefully. "Now, see, you're staying." Alex softly told him, losing every edge she had with this 'argument' but she knew that her point had been made.

Mike tried to shake his head in the negative but all he managed to do was bury his face in her shoulder. Suddenly finding comfort in the scent that was Alex; natural due to the fact she'd not been spraying herself with feminine fragrances for the last few days but it didn't matter because she didn't have that nasty smell some people acquire. He pulled her tighter, slightly aware of the fact she was resistant to hold him tight, not wanting to hurt him. But she allowed him to take strength from her by holding her and she slowly but surely found herself burying her own face in the nape of his neck. Still leaning together they remained that way. Finding comfort in each other and suddenly realising that they had not done this, they had both just been there; numb. Mike found that his vertigo was fading in her arms at the same time he felt something cold yet warm and wet start to plaster his skin.

In response to the fresh tears he pulled her closer, wanting to offer her some comfort. "I'm sorry." He whispered, so quiet it was barely audible but her ear was so close to his lips that she heard it loud and clear. Standing so close to the edge of relief, sadness and understanding they both just held on. Alex nodded, accepting his apology even though she felt he didn't need to give her one. Annoyed at herself for starting the waterworks, she pulled back a little and wiped her eyes forcefully. Mike smiled at her, and then slowly laid himself back down.

Alex carefully pushed his legs back into bed and then pulled the covers over his body. "I'll stay one more night." Mike agreed.

She smirked, "Till the doctor says." She argued in a hushed tone of voice.

"One more night." Mike repeated. He looked at her, smiling, "Where's the coffee?"

"Coffee?" Alex asked, confused. Using her index finger to wipe her bottom eyelid. "Oh yeah. I didn't get any."

Mike frowned, as he tried to get comfortable but couldn't because of the pain he'd caused his ribs by moving in the first place, "Why?"

"I got halfway there before I realised what you were doing." Alex replied, calmly, knowing full well that he had thought she'd bought the whole thing and not figured him out at all. "You won't be left alone again, Mike Logan."

Mike rolled his eyes in mock disappointment, he'd figured as much. "As long as the doctor says I can go home tomorrow, it'll be alright."

Alex sat down in the bedside chair, "And if he doesn't?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Mike just looked at her and she shook her head.

"I'd rather go home."

Alex looked down at her hands for a moment and considered what Mike would think of as home - the apartment he'd been living in for the past couple of years or that house of hers she'd just allowed him to move into. She really wanted it to be the latter but for some reason she was coming up against the wall of doubt and she couldn't understand why. She had to put it down to her over tired mind and the emotional state she was in right now. "Home?"

He twisted his neck slightly to look at her, "Yeah, home. Y'know? That house I just moved into." He confirmed it for her, and he knew he was doing that. He smirked, "I believe you live there too." Alex let out a small laugh and Mike sighed with accomplishment.

"Yeah." Alex whispered, unnecessarily replying, "I'd like to go home too."

Mike grinned, "So let's go." Alex shook her head and he just sighed. It would be an on-going battle with her that he knew he would win, he just had to hold on. She placed her hand on his; the one attached to his good arm that was actually useful. He held onto her fingers, and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and for the first time since he'd been 'rescued' he finally took in her tired expression, her weary look and he could see the worry behind her eyes. "You didn't sleep, did you?" Mike asked, coughing slightly when he felt something tickle his throat.

She shook her head in response and looked at him with a sorrowful look on her face. "No." she replied, softly, "Did you?"

"Well," Mike started, coughing again, "It was more of a choice less moment of unconsciousness." Alex frowned at his choice of words and he smiled, "No, not really."

She sat up and leaned on the bed, looking into his eyes she finally asked the question burning on her mind, "What happened?"

Mike closed his eyes, squeezing his vision shut, as he tried to determine what had happened and if he actually wanted to discuss it. He really knew the answer to both but there was something in her voice, something there that made him re-open his eyes and speak softly, "Wrong place, wrong time." When he stopped, she just nodded, not expecting him to say anymore but he surprised her by speaking up again with a louder voice. "Well, I can't say for sure but they seemed to have a gang structure." She looked at him whilst he spoke, noticing the report style, "We'd only turned up to ask him some questions, but I guess he had other plans."

"He? Corin Ford?" Alex asked, fully aware that interrupting him might just stop him from continuing altogether.

"Yeah." Mike replied, "Him." The last word was spoken with venom, and was almost spat out like a piece of bad food.

"What happened to you?" Alex whispered, daring to ask, wanting to know.

He looked at her out the corner of his eye, "Just beat the crap out of me." He looked at his plastered arm and then added, "A lot." Alex knew what he was doing, he was trying to put on a brave face and cover up his hurt with jokes and nonchalance but she knew there was nothing she could about that, this was Mike Logan and she didn't want to change him. He had to handle this his way.

----------------------------------

Further down the hall, Megan stared at the ceiling. Noticing the plain, white and simple decoration but unable to focus on it because the image of Corin Ford rushing through her mind. The rippling sound of gun fire teared through her ear drums and the slow motion sickness rumbled in her stomach as she tried to hold onto it's contents and block out the feeling of guilt and remorse. A hard thing to do when you're doing nothing but staring at the hospital ceiling, forced to stay in bed and no one with you to occupy your thoughts.

Her mother had visited her already but had had to leave because of commitments, Megan didn't expect her to stay but was annoyed at her for leaving because it meant that the only person with her was Corin Ford.

And of course, she'd had visits from colleagues; Captain Ross, Bobby Goren and several former work colleagues and partners had already turned up hence the fabulous array of flowers, cards and gifts. But these gifts did nothing to silence the echoing bang of the weapon she had fired at a man's body, killing him instantly. It's sound resonated in her ears like torture and played with her every emotion until she was out and then continued on anyway. The coughing she'd been doing to clear her lungs only punctuated the sound, helping it along to keep her a victim of her own action that saved her partners life; her only comfort was the fact that her partner was still alive, breathing, and sleeping several rooms down the hall.

There was a knock on the door and Megan turned her head slowly to look at the intruder. "Hey." The woman said.

"Alex?" Megan spoke quietly, speaking her name as if she wasn't sure that that was who it was. Alex nodded and walked over towards the bed. "Who's with Logan?" Megan had heard about his demands, his need for escape and it had made her laugh briefly.

Alex smiled softly, "My father is with him." Megan snorted laughter at the thought but then she just stopped altogether. "I just came to say that I understand what you're going through." Megan looked at her, curiously, not sure where this was coming from, "And if you need to talk... well..."

"Thanks." Megan nodded, sincerely. "Thanks."

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